Moonlight Shadow
by Amaya Shinkuyoake
Summary: (Magic Kaitou) Based on a favourite song of mine. Aoko's been having strange, troubling dreams, is her subconscious trying to tell her something? or is something stranger going on?
1. 0 Will You Come to Talk to Me This Night

Well, this is my first attempt at writing for the DC universe…this is just the prologue for a longer piece (not sure how long, depends on what my latest muse has to say about things) I hope you all like it, and I will admit that my knowledge of both Meitantei Conan and Magic Kaitou is sketchy at best, so this doesn't fall into any particular point in time. Don't expect the next part in the too immediate future, I'm going on a bit of a trip and wanted to get this out before I went so you can give me a bit of feedback on it and whether or not it should continue.

And, of course, none of this belongs to me. --;; if it did I wouldn't be struggling to keep up with the vet bills for my two overactive kittens!

Moonlight Shadow 

Inspired by the song by: Mike Oldfield

from his album: Crisis

(snip) which apparently I am no longer allowed to show you the lyrics to, due to policy, (no comment) so you'll just have to look up the lyrics.

Prologue:

Will You Come to Talk to Me This Night

Nakamori Aoko had always been a pretty average girl. A little more violent than some, to be sure, but nothing besides those violent episodes to really make her stand out. This being so, very few of her classmates, if asked, would be able to pinpoint the exact point in time at which she began to change. It was a subtle thing, her change, not readily visible from the outside, but it was profound.

Aoko hadn't been sleeping well for the last few nights, but she figured it was just stress. She always felt stressed on the nights in between Kaitou Kid's delivery of a riddle to her father and the night of the heist itself. She wasn't sure why she continued to get so worked up, but if pressed, she might admit it had a great deal to do with her father's own stress level. On the evening of May 23rd, one day before the Kid was to attempt the theft of the Victoria Emerald, she had tossed and turned until after two-thirty in the morning before finally falling into a fitful sleep. Now it was three am, and she had begun to dream. Not an entirely pleasant dream either.

She was standing somewhere high up, that was her first impression. She could feel the wind tugging at her hair, and she could feel it gaining strength. She still couldn't see anything, though. She tried to reach up and rub at her eyes, only to realize that her arms were tied to something, straight out at shoulder level, almost as though she had been crucified. Suddenly she could hear the crunch of footsteps on gravel over the moaning of the wind. Someone was walking up behind her. She tensed with fear, not knowing whether this was a rescuer or the one who'd done this to her.

"Oh Kami-sama, Aoko!" she heard a sharp gasp behind her.

"Kaito?"

"Don't worry Aoko, I'll get you down from there." Kaito reassured her.

"Kaito, wait! I think it might be a trap!" Aoko warned him. (She couldn't think why anyone would set a trap for Kaito, but in the dream it seemed to make perfect sense that someone might string her up to get to him.)

"Of course it's a trap," he said, a hint of ice and steel in his voice, "that doesn't mean I'm just going to leave you hanging here!"

"Can you take of whatever it is that's keeping me from seeing where I am first?" she pleaded.

"Aoko..." He took a deep breath. "You don't want to see where you are, just trust me on this one."

"Kaito...?" She wasn't able to hide the quiver of fear in her voice.

"Shh..." he soothed, "I won't let you fall, I promise."

She felt warm cloth cup her cheek and realized for some reason he was wearing gloves. She felt his warm breath for only an instant, and then he was kissing her, and she felt something metallic brush her other cheek... And then she was falling. She screamed as she fell, of course, but this time Kaito wasn't there to save her.

When she finally landed she could see again. She was on the top of a tall building, and it was obviously the middle of one of Kid's heists. There were police running all over the place, and spotlights and searchlights scanning the roof she was standing on.

"Pardon me, ojousan." said a smooth, quiet voice behind her. She spun around and saw the very Phantom Thief himself. He took her hand and bowed low over it, sweeping off his top hat to reveal a very familiar shock of dark brown hair.

"Kaito?" she asked, confused. Why was she dreaming that Kaito was the Kaitou Kid?

If it was indeed Kaito, he didn't say anything, merely placing his hat back on his head, its low brim shadowing his face.

"Where are you going?" she asked.

"My public awaits, time to face the music. Take good care of them for me, ne ojousan?"

"Wha... Take care of what...?" she protested, then realized she had something in her hand. She looked down and saw a gorgeous moonstone, obviously the target of this latest heist, and the Kid's monocle.

When she looked back up, she saw that Kid (or _was_ it Kaito?) was standing on the edge of the roof.

"Sayonara, Aoko." she thought she heard him whisper just before he let himself fall forward.

She let out a small scream and ran to the edge of the roof, only to see the wings of his white glider open and catch an updraft, sending him soaring. It was a somehow poignantly beautiful sight... and then all of a sudden the peace of that moment was broken by a gunshot, and then another, and another - six in all - and the glider crumpled like the wings of a dove shot from the sky, and she could see bright blossoms of red blood bloom on his chest. Somehow she could still meet his eyes... he had turned over in midair... and in the deep pools of his dark blue eyes she could see apology, and sadness, and most of all she could see love. They were familiar eyes, and she was falling deep into them... and then it struck her.

"_Kaito...!_" she screamed.

And she had leaned too far and she was falling now too, and she couldn't see him anymore...

And she was awake, panting hard, and with cold sweat plastering her nightgown to her back. There were tears running down her face and her heart felt like it was shattered into a thousand pieces.


	2. 1 The Night Was Heavy and the Air Was Al...

Well, I promised more and I have delivered.  Nothing better than trips to give one a bit of inspiration…especially trips to visit with mystery-loving relatives!  Anyway, I think I'm satisfied with this chapter.  I also have Chapter Two well on its way, although it's going to have to wait until part of Chapter 3 is written before I can post it (have to write a heist BEFORE I write the riddle for it, for some reason I'm having trouble getting the Kid to listen to my instructions…darned fractious characters – sighs)  In any case, I hope you enjoy this one, please pardon the rampant fluff, and don't worry, I will explain Aoko's dreams…eventually ^_~

Oh, and if I got anyone's name wrong or anything like that, please let me know

NO, I DON'T OWN IT! * sighs *

Moonlight Shadow

Chapter 1:

The Night Was Heavy and the Air Was Alive

The morning of May 24th finally arrived, and Aoko somehow managed to drag herself out of bed, blast herself to wakefulness (although not alertness) under the shower, throw on her school uniform, and grab her bag and a piece of toast before running out the door.  She was slightly more alert when she met up with Kaito at their usual spot, but she still kept yawning.  And faintly blushing.  She still couldn't get the sensation of kissing him out of her mind.  It had seemed so real, that dream...

'What's she blushing about?' Kaito wondered to himself as he hurried to school along with his childhood friend.  Since he hadn't done anything (yet) to rile her up, he didn't know what could have caused it.  He looked around, but all the other people on the street were busily heading off to start their own day and nobody else they knew was around to cause her to blush.  He shrugged.  He couldn't explain it.  She looked almost like she was daydreaming or something.

"Hey, you looking forward to tonight?" he teased.

Aoko turned to glare at Kaito.  "You think my father won't catch the Kid?  Well, this time you're wrong, this time he said the riddle was really easy, and he knows just how he can stop that stupid thief.  He's keeping it totally secret, he won't even tell me!" she smirked.

"I'm sure that's what Kaitou Kid _wants_ him to think." Kaito grinned.  It was _such_ a shame Inspector Nakamori had decided to take him so literally on that whole "crown of roses" bit instead of figuratively.  Such a good riddle, too!  And well worth the work to write the whole thing in English:

_            "I'll tip my hat to old Mrs. B. on her special day, and as the stars come out, I'll crown her with roses for her enjoyment."_

Short, too-the-point, and deceptively easy, since Hakuba had picked up on the first reference right off the bat, making everyone less wary of plays on words in the rest of the riddle.

Kaito shook his head.  He was too keyed up to worry about Aoko being in a bit of a funk, he'd just bait her twice as much as usual once they got to school and pull her out of it like always.

School dragged.  It always did on heist days, Kaito found, and today was dragging more than most.  In an attempt to relieve both his boredom and his earlier concern, he tried to pull Aoko out of her strange mood... and tried...

First he tried the old standby, flipping her skirt.  She shrieked, grabbed a mop, growled and swung.  He dodged with a laugh, and she chased him around the classroom once before sitting back down with one last swing for good measure.  Class began, though, and she slipped right back into pensiveness.  

He waited almost a whole half hour before trying his next trick.  For this one, he decided to try something a little more flashy.   With a subtle shrug of his shoulders he dropped a small smoke bomb into his hand.  He glanced around to make sure his path was clear, then flicked it into her desk.  Kaito grinned as he mentally counted three seconds.  Right as he reached zero, a thin line of smoke began to trickle out of her desk.  It was almost unnoticed for a moment, since Aoko was studiously taking notes, but the smoke quickly thickened.  One would think she would have learned some measure of calm by now, having lived so long around Kaito, but then, with Kaito you never knew if he might have, in fact, lit something on fire.  She yelped and jumped out of her desk, then began pulling papers out.  Her hand soon closed around the smooth ovoid of the smoke bomb.  With a roar of outrage, she threw it at Kaito.  He ducked it, and it hit Hakuba right between the eyes.  Hakuba let out a most undignified shriek and lunged for Kaito, who burst into gales of laughter, allowing Aoko just enough time to give him a decent whack with the mop she had almost habitually grabbed before he started running.  With many a flip and hop, he made it all the way around the classroom three times this round before Aoko was settled enough to return to her seat and let Iwasaki-sensei continue with her Literature lesson.  Even after this most diverting episode, though, Aoko was quickly back to her musings.  

Kaito sighed.  He could tell that although she was quite willing to get goaded into chasing him around the class with a mop, and might have seemed normal to most of the other students, she was still distracted somewhat.  Strangely, it worried him more than he might have expected it to.  His Aoko shouldn't be this out-of-it, especially on a day when she had even said she was confident of her father finally catching the Kid!  Not that that would ever actually happen, but still...

Aoko sighed.  She just couldn't get those strange dreams out of her mind, and it was horribly disturbing.  Why had she dreamed the Kaitou Kid was Kaito?  What bizarre mental twist could come up with that one?  There was no way it was true, of course; her father had been chasing the Kid for more than ten years now, and he was an adult then too...  And she had known Kaito then, and he had been her age, far too young to be gallivanting around as some kind of master-thief!  It was patently ridiculous... Unless there were more than one 1412 somehow.  Aoko frowned and shook her head.  She was letting her imagination run away with her again.  Kaito was Kaito, Kid was Kid, and that was that!  She glanced surreptitiously over at the object of her thoughts.  He appeared to be studiously employed for the moment, taking notes on Hirata-sensei's lecture about the importance of the shinobi in later-Tokugawa-era government.  Something about their use in humiliating political opponents.  He glanced up and winked at her suddenly, and she immediately started scanning the room to see what he might have rigged, triggered, or otherwise caused to behave in a way it was not meant to.

And the day dragged on.

Nakamori Ginzo nervously checked his watch.  Kid's riddle had specified the stars would be coming out when he took the Victoria Emerald, and if sunset was at eight thirty, then astronomical twilight should be around nine fifteen.  It was ten after nine now, and the whole Kaitou 1412 taskforce was assembled in the display hall in the home of the British Consul to Japan.  Getting them there had been a nightmare of paperwork, since, technically, they had no jurisdiction on "British soil", but with a lot of fast talking, and a pretty major favor or three called in from DCI Hakuba (which had involved phone calls made at an absolutely appalling hour of the morning), Nakamori had convinced the Consul that his precious jewel would be better protected by a force more familiar with the Kid's methods.  From the riddle, Nakamori had deduced that the Kid would be making his exit through the mansion's ballroom, a lovely nineteenth-century creation featuring a frescoed ceiling depicting a rose arbor, and thus had placed most of the force in position to block that door.  So now they waited, with that nervous anticipation which none of them ever completely lost in the face of Kid's off-the-wall antics, and hardly dared to breathe for fear they might not hear him coming.

As astronomical twilight finally fell, the infamous Kaitou Kid was sliding silently through the ducting in the mansion attached to the British Consulate.  As he made yet another right-angle turn, he thanked whichever kami might be nearby that the system had been recently cleaned, and that he was both extremely flexible and not inclined to claustrophobia.  He also sent out a little prayer of thanks to his father, wherever he was, for designing a costume out of silk and satin, which were much less likely to catch on things like the sharp edges of the insides of air-conditioning systems.  Reaching his destination at last, he took careful note of the position of each of the police officers assigned to this particular room through the vent grille.  When the one closest to the display case of his target turned to the man next to him, Kid made his move.  Dropping to land lightly on top of the display case, he made a deep bow, briefly sweeping his top hat off to the side.

"_Good evening, Ladies and Gentlemen!_" he announced in English, "And now, some roses for the greatest Queen England has ever known!"  

With a wave of his hand and a sharp "crack" of an explosion, rose petals and rose-scented smoke drifted down from the ceiling onto the momentarily-stunned police force.  They were only stunned very momentarily though, just long enough for him to grab the Victoria Emerald and run, laughing, over their shoulders and heads to the next display case.  

"So nice to see you could make it, Inspector, I was a little worried they might not let you into the county!" he said politely as he did a handspring off the floor in between two completely flummoxed officers.

"It doesn't matter where you go, I'll always be there to catch you." Nakamori replied vehemently, adding in a few words not repeatable in polite company to describe his opponent.

Various officers made attempts to grab him as he dashed and dodged toward the stairs leading to the roof, but he slipped through their hands like a cat through tall grass, laughing as he went.  Some of the officers, having realized his destination, had created a human barricade in front of those stairs.  For a brief second he paused, as though to plan an alternative route, at which point a number of the police decided to try a nice traditional dogpile-on-the-bandit.  With another wave of his hand, more explosions began around the floor, sending the rose petals back up into the air.  Making a mad dash for the stairs while they were blinded, and laughing all the way, Kaitou Kid made his escape... from the room, at least.

Inspector Nakamori swore vociferously and tried to run for the staircase, but unfortunately, quite a few of the officers had that exact same idea, not to mention most of the "human barricade" were still there, and there was a major bottleneck of shoving, swearing bodies, all covered in pale pink rose petals.

As a delaying tactic, it worked pretty well.  Well enough, since they hadn't been expecting him to make his escape in this direction, that Kid had a minute or two to himself up on the roof before he was noticed to check his haul.  The Victoria Emerald was a beautiful stone, reasonably flawless for its size of four inches long, and the deep green colour only found in the finest of stones.  It was not, however, the particular stone he was looking for.  He sighed.  It never was the Pandora, was it?  A spotlight swept over him and back, then stilled, outlining his white-clad form, and he could hear pounding feet on the stairs behind him and the cheering of the crowds below.  No time for long soliloquies then, time to get going.  Just as the first officer burst through the door onto the roof he jumped off, deploying his hanglider and waving to the crowd.

"Thanks for the exercise!" he called back over his shoulder, "See you next time!" 

He grinned to himself as he looked down at the throngs of his fans... and one not-fan.  He could see Aoko down there, looking almost as furious as her father undoubtedly was, and even from up here he imagined he could see the fire in her eyes and the flush of her cheeks which had, for the past few years, been the main reason he had for teasing her.  To see such passion in her, even if it was the only safe kind he could hope to inspire in her, was both pleasure and pain.  He could never, of course, be with her in the way he truly wanted to, so he kept her at bay, and assuaged as much of his thirst for her as he could with the passion of her anger.  After all, if she ever did learn the truth about the face behind the monocle she would hate him anyway.  So he kept her close without seeming to, and watched over her, and in his mind, at least, she was his.

Aoko wanted to scream as she watched the Kaitou Kid soar overhead.  Once again he had gotten away!  Once again he had made the whole Kaitou 1412 taskforce look completely ineffectual!  Once again he had made her father look like a fool!  How many more times was this going to have to happen?  How many more days and nights feeling like an orphan at home alone while her father worked late, or even through the night?  How long until it was all finally over?  She didn't know, unfortunately.  Suddenly exhausted, she started trudging home.  Even the prospect of more strange dreams like that one last night seemed welcoming, since dreaming would mean she was in her bed, asleep.

Blocks away from the consulate now, Kaitou Kid landed his glider on a low roof and quickly stowed it away, then pulled out his backpack with his street clothes from its hiding place in the back of the fan service shed and changed.  With a yawn he carefully folded and rolled up his alternate persona and packed it away.  He had learned early on that silk wrinkled most alarmingly when shoved into a backpack in a hurry, and once it _was_ wrinkled, it took an awful lot of ironing to get his tux, not to _mention _the cape, back to the pristine crispness Kid expected of it.  Kaito was less than fond of ironing, although he did do a fair bit of it anyway.  After all, it wasn't like he could just throw his "evening apparel" in with the rest of the clean laundry for his mother to iron!  That would raise a few more questions than he felt quite ready to answer.  Although he was sure his mother had her suspicions, she was far from unintelligent, after all, he wasn't yet comfortable beginning that particular conversation and all its possible ramifications.  He still held out a vain hope that he might be able to deal with things and end Kid's career before it became an issue.  Maybe then he could be all he wanted to be for Aoko.  He heaved a deep sigh.  He just couldn't seem to get her off his mind tonight.  Maybe he'd better check in on her before he headed to his own bed.  Hefting his pack higher on his shoulders he started down from the roof, heading off on the familiar path to her house.

When she reached home, Aoko barely paused to check whether the answering machine light was blinking, which it wasn't, before heading for her room and shucking her school uniform in favor of a light nightgown.  She was asleep almost before her head hit the pillow, and dreaming not long after.

This time the dream started at school.  It was late at night, but somehow she and Kaito were sitting in their closed-up classroom.

"We all have our reasons, you know." he was saying, "I just... All I really wanted was my father back, but since that was impossible, I decided to expose his killers and bring them to justice.  Maybe it wasn't the smartest course to take, but it's the one I chose, and, truthfully, once I knew what had really happened I didn't have much other choice, you know.  My only regret is that you've been pulled into this.  I never wanted you in the line of fire."

"So you would have continued to keep the truth from me?  To blithely go along with my efforts to prove you innocent?  All the while laughing at my ignorance behind my back?" she railed at him, "I was 'in the line of fire' as you put it, in any case.  You didn't think I wouldn't be hurt just as much if I found out when it was all over?"

"But you'd be alive.  I didn't mind so much that you would hate me, so long as I knew you would be hating me alive and in one piece."  His voice cracked slightly with some emotion she couldn't identify, although it sounded like pain and guilt.

It was that pain, and the sentiment it expressed, that decided her.  She reached over to lay one of her hands over his where they were nervously clenched in his lap.

"I would never hate you, Kaito.  I'm more than a bit hurt that you didn't feel you could confide in me, but I don't hate you." she reassured him.

He looked at her hand on top of his, then looked up and met her gaze...

And she was falling again.  Falling toward him, and he was falling below her, only he was wearing the Kaitou Kid outfit again, and bleeding from the gunshot wounds she had seen inflicted in her dream the night before.  He held the edges of his cape in his hands to catch the wind and slow his descent, allowing her to catch up with him.  He caught her midair and held her tightly.

"I'm sorry, I never meant for you to take the fall with me." he said with a shaky grin.  His face was almost as pale as the outfit he wore.

"Better we're together." she said, "I couldn't stand to be without you."

"Not long now." he whispered.

"Kaito..."

"Shh..." he silenced her with a kiss.

She closed her eyes and the sensation of falling was gone, although she was still being kissed.  She could feel that she was sitting on the couch at Kaito's house, the fabric of its cushions as familiar as her own.

"Don't worry, Ao-chan," she heard Kaito say gently, "everything'll be fine, I promise."

On a convenient tree near Aoko's window, Kaito hid his pack, then proceeded to her roof.  From there it was child's play to lower himself enough to peer in her window, which was even open a crack in the heat.  He could tell almost immediately that she was not sleeping peacefully.  She was tossing and turning, and making small whimpering sounds as unconscious tears leaked from her eyes.

"_Kaito..._" she murmured with a sad tremor in her voice.

Almost before he knew it he was through the window and inside her room.  Hoping fervently that she wouldn't wake up, he knelt beside her bed.

"Don't worry Ao-chan, everything'll be fine, I promise." he whispered, gently brushing her sweat-dampened bangs from her forehead.

"Mmm... Kaito..." she mumbled happily as she seemed to calm from her nightmare.  She reached out one hand, blindly groping toward him, but he was out the window again in a flash.

Perched up on the peak of her roof, Kaito laid back and waited for his heart to slow down.

"What was that all about?"  he wondered out loud, "Why would she be calling out for _me _in her sleep?"  He took a deep breath and gazed up at the stars.  He knew he couldn't stay there all night, and yet, there was a part of him that wanted to, that said he should stay nearby in case she needed him... but he knew better.  His presence, welcome though it seemed at the moment, would be questioned once morning came, and Aoko would be less-than-pleased to see his face hovering over her when she woke up.  Besides, he'd had a busy last few days, and he needed his sleep in his own bed.  He decided to take one last look into her room before he left, just to reassure himself she was still sleeping peacefully.  He lowered himself carefully over the edge of the roof again, and smiled at the sight that met his eyes.  Aoko was now curled up on her side hugging her pillow, her hair fanned over her pillow, and appeared to be fast asleep.  In the pale moonlight, it almost looked like she was glowing. 

Well, I hope you all liked that little bit of nothing, and I hope it wasn't too angsty and fluffy.  Prises to anyone who got the references in the riddle, and if anyone knows Hakuba's father's actual rank let me know, I just assigned him one arbitrarily from what I could remember of Scotland Yard ranking (from watching way too many Brit crime dramas)

Hopefully I should have Chapter Two out sometime soon.  You all should like it, since the mystery of Aoko's interrupted sleep is explained, mostly…and the thief and the inspector unexpectedly find they have some common ground…and common enemies!


	3. 2 But She Couldn't Find how to Push Thro...

And in an almost unprecedented move for me, I have the next chapter out already!  Mostly that's because I had Chapter One basically ready to post last week but wasn't able to, being, as I've said, away from computer access.

I do hope things aren't too out of character in this chapter, I have a couple of major changes which are happening for the characters, emotionally, and their reactions may not be quite what would be expected, unless you keep that in mind.  Any hints and/or pointers for slipups if you notice them would be appreciated ^_~

The Story (and the Tenshi no Namida) are mine, the characters are most emphatically not!

Moonlight Shadow

Chapter 2:

But She Couldn't Find how to Push Through

The emerald was returned in a box of patisseries delivered to Inspector Nakamori's office the next day, a couple of weeks and another 1412 heist went by, and the month of May slid into June with little fanfare.  Aoko's dreams continued in their strange bent the whole time, with a focus on falling, and the particular dream where Kaitou Kid was shot.  It wore on her, though, and it was becoming more and more obvious.  Keiko had asked her more than once whether she wasn't coming down with something.  

Her dreams were wearing on Kaito too.  He found himself sneaking over to her house at least two or three nights a week, to watch her sleep and calm her out of the worst of the nightmares.  It meant a lot less sleep for him, however, and that was worrying him.  He _needed_ his sleep.  He had a really good prospect for a heist next week, but it would be a difficult one to pull off, right under the nose (or, rather, out of the warehouse) of a man he suspected to be a member of the syndicate who had killed his father.  He couldn't just leave Aoko to suffer, though, his heart wouldn't let him.  He felt torn, especially on those mornings after a night when he'd had to stay home and she looked more worn down than ever.  There was no real solution he could come up with, though.  This week he would just have to harden his heart to the dark circles under her eyes and get as much sleep as he could in preparation for such a big, important heist.

On the sixteenth of June, a riddle was waiting for Nakamori Ginzo on his breakfast table.  Aoko was the one who actually found it, being habitually an earlier riser than her father.  She realized almost immediately what it was, of course, having seen many of its ilk before, so she left it just where it was, placed precisely in the center of the table, and got the coffee pot brewing.  Her father would want a good strong cup of coffee when he saw the note.  

Thinking of Kaitou Kid put her in mind of her dreams again.  There seemed to be two main themes running through them: Kaito explaining his reasons for... something... (she never seemed to come in during the part of the conversation which detailed just exactly what it was he'd been doing that needed explanation), and her watching the Kaitou Kid, who was also Kaito for some reason, being shot from the sky.  And the kissing, of course, though she preferred not to think about that too much when she was awake, as it made her blush horribly, and that raised questions she was most unwilling to delve into the answers to just yet.  She wished she had someone to discuss her strange dreams with, though, someone who would listen without judging her or calling her crazy.

Nakamori Ginzo was _not_ pleased.  He was, in point of fact, very much less than pleased.  He sat at his desk, chewing furiously at his nicotine gum, drinking blacker-than-black coffee, and frowning thunderously at the riddle which had been delivered to him this morning.

**Feathers rain down, the heavens' tears, and the angel spreads her wings at last under the moon in her glory**

It could only be referring to one gem, and the thought of that left him with a cold, sick feeling in his gut that all the hot coffee in the world couldn't warm up.  He wondered if there was some way to contact Kid before the twenty-first, the full moon and apparently the night of the heist, and tell him... He wasn't even sure what he _would_ tell him if he could, but if _that gem_ was around...

Two nights before the planned heist date, Kaito was sitting at his computer doing a bit of additional internet research on the Kid's latest target, a two-inch-long moonstone called the Angel's Tear, when he came across a very small, obscure, and well-hidden page.  It seemed at first to have little to do with his stone, being more a family history of a line of guardian and healing miko, but as he read, he found he slipped into his poker face, although it grew harder and harder to maintain, and he couldn't stop his fists from clenching so tightly that his palms bled.  

He read the story of the Tenshi Miko and their power passed down from mother to daughter for centuries, of how their most precious treasure, the Tenshi no Namida, was stolen from them during the civil wars which established the Meiji jidai over a hundred years before, and of how the most recent miko had been killed by a sickeningly horrible method, thallium poisoning, in an effort by an evil syndicate to gain the healing powers the gem was purported to have.  They had apparently suspected her of knowing the location of the gem, and thought by using a slow-acting but medically incurable poison on her they would persuade her to produce the stone to save her own life.  She never did, though, whether or not she had even known where it was, and sank slowly into the madness thallium brings, leaving behind a two-year-old daughter to carry on her line, and also her heartbroken husband, a young, up-and-coming police officer now going by the name of...

"Nakamori." Kaito read out loud to himself.  "Oh Aoko.  There's nobody they haven't hurt, is there.  I always knew your mother died of a wasting illness when you were young, but I had no idea..."

He forced himself to unclench his fists and continue reading.  

Having no other choice than to wait for the new Tenshi Miko to blossom into her power, the family had moved her and her father around a number of times, under a number of different names, until they finally settled in the burgeoning metropolis of Tokyo.  

It was what was written on the bottom of the page, however, which most disturbed him.  It was a letter, almost a missive, and it was addressed to him.

            **"Kuroba Kaito, Kaitou Kid, greetings.  **

**If you are reading this, it means that the Tenshi no Namida has once again come to light.  I write this knowing I will disappoint you to some extent.  You seek the Pandora, and will have to continue that quest, I have no knowledge of its location, but I beg a favor of you.  Please return the Tenshi no Namida to its rightful keeper, Nakamori Aoko, and help keep both it and her out of the hands of the evil ones who killed her mother.   I'm sure you wonder how I know of you.  Don't be concerned that your secret is out, I am a miko with the uncommon skill of clairvoyance and prescience, and I have long ago seen your connection to our Aoko, and hers to you.  I know you are an honorable man, and will do what you can for Aoko.  **

**Do not attempt to bookmark or save this website, although you may print it once, as it will be erased once you leave it, having served the purpose for which it was created."**

The letter wasn't signed.

Kaito did as it suggested, printing out the ten or so pages of the story of the Tenshi Miko.  It was all he could do to keep himself from running straight to Aoko's home and camping out on her roof.  Just the mere thought of her lying in a hospital bed wasting away like her mother, with her hair falling out from thallium poisoning, gave him the chills.  He _would_ give her the Angel's tear, and he _would_ protect her the best that he could until her powers blossomed... and after too.  He decided he had also better have a little conversation with her father before the heist.  Kaito was sure he would be more than eager to confront his wife's killers.

Inspector Nakamori was still at his office late into the night of the nineteenth, trying to decide how to get in touch with the Kaitou Kid.  It rubbed him very much the wrong way to even consider such a thing, but he didn't see that he had much choice.  He wasn't making much headway, though.  After all, nobody ever saw Kid except when he chose, and he was so adept at disguise that he might be anyone.  Nakamori himself had seen the Kid turn up as a mailroom attendant, an old gaijin tourist lady, and even a young police officer.

"Working late, aren't you?" he heard a voice say behind him.  He spun around in his chair to see Kaitou Kid hanging casually outside his small window.

"You...  What are you doing here?" Nakamori blustered, momentarily forgetting that this was exactly the person he had wanted to talk to.

"I'm here because I think we need to have a little chat about the object of my next heist." Kid said.  "I have been given some information about this 'Angel's Tear' moonstone, and I can see now that there are some connections between us which need to be made clear.  The syndicate which killed your wife are also my true enemies.  Nine years ago they took someone very important away from me as well, and my heists to this point have been an effort to attract their attention and draw them to you."

"So that was why you were inactive for so long." Nakamori nodded.  Kid made no reply to that, so he continued.  "If you know about my wife and the syndicate, then you also know that the Tenshi no Namida rightly belongs to my daughter Aoko, who will be the next Tenshi Miko.  I have a duplicate, made for just such a situation, which I can give you to return in its place, so the present holders of it don't know they no longer have the actual Angel's Tear."

"Indeed, I intended to return the Tenshi no Namida to its _true_ owner, just as I always do.  The duplicate would be most appreciated.  It should make a good diversion.  I was also asked to watch over Aoko and help protect her, and I intended to do just that." Kid said, an unusual hint of firmness entering his smooth, half-whispering voice.

"If you were asked by the person I suspect, I will have to trust her judgment in that, she told me long ago that Aoko would have a protector.  She referred to him as 'Aoko's white knight'." Nakamori sighed with an obvious note of frustration.

"Aoko...  Have you told her the truth yet?" Kid asked.

"Not yet.  I was sworn to secrecy until such time as her power blossoms." he explained with a shake of his head.  "That shouldn't be long now, though, I've been expecting it ever since her birthday."

"Hmm...  Would constant recurring nightmares or dreams be a sign of that blossoming?"

"That, and she would glow with power.  Those are the precursor to her true arrival into her power.  How did you know?"

"You need to pay more attention to your daughter." Kid said, and this time there was a definite note of displeasure in his rigidly controlled voice.

Inspector Nakamori opened his mouth to protest, but Kaitou Kid was gone as suddenly as he had appeared.  He turned back to his desk to gather a few papers in preparation for leaving.  "And whose fault is it that I'm here all the time anyway?" he muttered.

A couple of blocks away, Kaito was silently fuming as he changed back into his street clothes.  He couldn't _believe_ the high and mighty police inspector ordering _him_ around about a heist!  And keeping the truth of Aoko's nature from her for so long...  If there was anything Kaito understood only too well it was the sense of betrayal felt by a child kept in the dark about the truth regarding their parents.  He was feeling very uncharitable toward the inspector, so he chose to ignore the fact that Nakamori had said he'd been sworn to secrecy and thus hadn't had an option of explaining things to his daughter.  Even though he was already up later than he had planned to be, he headed toward the Nakamori home.  There was no way he would be able to sleep anyway until he had proved to himself that Aoko was alright.  With all that had happened today, and all that he had learned, he felt a little like his life was in the process of being turned on its head again, the same way it had been the day he found his dad's secret lair behind the portrait.  Aoko had always been Nakamori Aoko, the girl he played with, and later teased, and the only way he had ever wanted things to change between them was for them to get a little - _closer - _someday.  Now all of a sudden, everything he'd thought he knew about Aoko was different.  Kami-sama, her _name _wasn't even really Nakamori...  Kaito ran his hand through his hair, making it even more wild than usual.  He was glad of the night's darkness tonight, it let him shuck his masks to some degree and let out the frustration and fear... and anger he was feeling.  Increasing his stride, he rolled a coin over and around his knuckles, into his palm and across the back of his hand in an intricate pattern of prestidigitation which seemed almost random.  The streetlights caught the coin at different angles as he walked along, causing it to flicker as it passed over his hand, and with his wild hair shadowing his face, only the bright blue of his eyes was momentarily visible, turning a fairly mundane young man on the brink of adulthood into a being of magic.

It rankled, having to depend on a sworn enemy for anything, Nakamori Ginzo decided as he started up his car and pulled out of the police parking lot.  To have to enter into even such a "gentlemen's agreement" as this one with Kaitou Kid, _even_ for a good cause, made his metaphorical hackles stand on end.  And yet, he had learned some things tonight which were already forcing him to reevaluate his image of the Kid.  It seemed, whether or not he had always done so, the Kid was trying to fight the syndicate.  What Nakamori still couldn't figure out, though, was why the Kid had waited so long to start up his heists again after the syndicate had killed his loved one.  Of course, the Kid had only said his "loved one had been taken from him", not killed, but then, as Nakamori knew from painful experience, the syndicate didn't kidnap, or if they did, it wasn't long before captive became victim unless they had a _very_ good use for them.  Had the Kid's identity perhaps been compromised, as his wife Mariko's had been, and he had been forced underground?  Nakamori swore under his breath.  Traffic in Tokyo, even at night, was nothing to sneeze at, and he seemed to be hitting every red light on the way home.  Running over his conversation with the Kid again in his mind as he idled at the light, Nakamori continued to fume.  It was so tempting to use this brief period of concurrence of his and Kid's interests as a trap to _catch_ the dear old 1412, but since Minami-san seemed to have singled him out as Aoko's protector, he couldn't even do that!  There was something strange about that choice.  Nakamori let his mind wander back to the meeting he'd had ten years ago with his wife's cousin, the miko Minami.  What had she told him then about Aoko's "white knight"?  Hadn't she said he would soon enter Aoko's life, and they would grow closer with the years?  Nakamori had thought for sure she had been referring to the Kuroba boy.  He shrugged.  There were no easy answers, and police inspectors who took the easy way out did not remain police inspectors for long.

Tucked safe in her bed, Aoko was standing on the now-familiar roof once again, with the crowd and the spotlights below.  This time she felt something different in herself, some thread of power, and a deep desire to change this dream's outcome.

"Pardon me, ojousan." said a smooth, quiet voice behind her.  She spun around and saw the very Phantom Thief himself.  _Not just Kaitou Kid, she reminded herself, but Kaito as well._  He took her hand and bowed low over it, sweeping off his top hat to reveal a very familiar shock of dark brown hair.

"Kaito, I know it's you." she said sternly.

He looked up at her in surprise, and she saw both shock and fear in his eyes.  "Aoko?"

"You think I haven't had this dream enough times to have figured it out by now?" she chided him.  He hadn't let go of her hand yet, so she squeezed his fingers gently and smiled in an attempt to reassure him.

He straightened up and replaced the top hat, then smiled back.  "I have something here which I believe belongs to you," he said, and she felt him slip something smooth and cool into her palm.

She looked down and saw just what she had expected to, the same gleaming moonstone he had given her in all the previous iterations of this dream.  "What do you mean this belongs to me?" she asked, confused, "Don't you mean I should be the one to return it to its proper owner?"

"No." he said firmly, closing her hand around the gem with both of his, "It belongs to your family.  The one who had it has no rights to it."

"If you say so," she conceded.  She felt the stone warm to her hand and knew he was telling the truth.

All of a sudden, Kaito (she couldn't think of him as Kaitou Kid, even if he was, somehow) looked around.  "We have to get going, we've been up here too long already," he said, motioning her toward the fire escape.

It was only then that she heard what he must have caught before her, the sound of someone running up the interior stairs.  They were still a couple of meters from the edge of the roof when the first shot rang out.

*****************

When Kaito reached Aoko's house, he followed his usual route up to her room.  He could tell right away she was dreaming again, so he quickly slipped in her window.  Her arms were flailing as she tossed and turned, and he only narrowly avoided getting hit as he caught her wrists and held her arms down on the bed.

"Kaito..." she whispered brokenly.

"Shh... I'm here, it's alright." he reassured her.

She was panting as though she'd been running, and was obviously still upset, letting out small whimpering sobs which hurt his heart.

"It's okay Ao-chan, I swear.  I made a promise to protect you, and I intend to keep it," he said as he reached over to stroke her sweat-dampened hair.

*****************

Aoko screamed when she heard the shot.  She knew it wasn't the police, the 1412 taskforce didn't use guns, there was no need, and even if they did, why would they be shooting when there was such a high chance of hitting her?  Kaito grabbed her hand and started running with her toward the cover provided by one of the nearby air conditioner housings.  Two more shots rang out as they ran, and Kaito pushed her in front of him with one hand as he took out his card gun with the other to return fire.  She heard him let out a brief hiss of pain as he pulled her down to crouch in the shadow of the giant fan.  She turned to look at him and realized he was bleeding from a wound in his upper thigh.

"Kaito!  You're hurt!" she exclaimed.

"Shh... I'm okay, it's alright." he reassured her.

"But you're not!" she insisted, "and it's my fault."

"It's okay Ao-chan, I swear.  I made a promise to protect you, and I intend to keep it," he said as he reached over to stroke her hair.  Another shot rang out over their heads, and Kaito swore as the bullet passed right through his hat.  He popped his head up just long enough to return fire, then turned to her.  "You'd better put that gem somewhere safe, we're going to have to run again." he told her.

Not wanting to trust her somewhat shallow pockets, she slipped the moonstone down into her cleavage, then looked up at him again.  "Okay, I'm ready." she said.  If the situation hadn't been so serious she would have laughed at the hint of a blush high on his cheeks.

He held up one gloved hand between their faces, gestured briefly at a small utility shed with his chin, then silently counted down from three with his fingers.  When his fist was closed, he pulled her to her feet, then pushed her in front of him once again as they ran, laying down a stream of covering fire with his card gun.

*****************

Nakamori Ginzo pulled gratefully into his garage about half an hour after leaving his office.  All the upstairs lights were off, so he was pretty sure Aoko must be asleep.  He wanted to look in on her, to make sure she was alright.  Kaitou Kid's mention of her dreams had put him in mind of his own youth, and Mariko's horrible nightmares in the first year of their marriage.  He didn't bother to bring any of his work in from the car, he'd worry about that once he was sure Aoko was alright.

Kaito heard the car pull in and mentally swore.  After their conversation earlier, there was no way Nakamori would just go to bed without checking in on Aoko, and he hadn't gotten her calmed down yet.  He stroked her hair one last time, and gently patted her shoulder.

"I have to go for now, Ao-chan, but I'll be back, I promise." he whispered to her, then slipped out the window and back onto the roof.

*****************

Two more shots rang out as Aoko and the Kaitou Kid ran for cover.  As they reached the shed, Kaito pushed her in before him, then he ducked inside as well and closed the door behind him.  With the door closed, it was pitch black inside the small building, but, paradoxically, being unable to see him only made Aoko more aware of Kaito's closeness.  He reached out one hand and stroked her hair.

"You should be safe here." he reassured her.

"Don't you mean we?" she asked, confused.

 "I have to go for now, Ao-chan, but I'll be back, I promise." he whispered to her, patting her shoulder.

"Kaito, no!" she exclaimed.

"I won't hear any protest," he told her sternly, placing one gloved finger over her lips to close them.  Then, before she could gather her wits about her he had slipped back out the door and closed it behind him.

*****************

"Iie..." Nakamori heard his daughter moan as he opened the door to her room.  

The sight which met his eyes immediately recalled to his mind those nights her mother had her nightmares.  Aoko was shifting in greater and greater distress, and was glowing with a faint silvery light.

"Iie... Kaito..." she almost whimpered.

Nakamori quickly kneeled at her bedside.

"It's alright Aoko, Kaito-kun isn't here right now, but I am." he told her.  He knew from long ago experience that it was a bad idea to try to wake a miko having such a dream... or vision, more like.

"Tousan... Kaito... doko..." 

Damn that boy, never around when you needed him...

*****************

In the locked shed, Aoko was quickly loosing her patience.  

"Kaito!  Get back in here!" she yelled, banging on the door.  "It's not _safe_ out there!"

She heard another shot, followed by another...  It was almost worse being in here, unable to see what was going on.

"No!  Kaito, get back _in _here!"  she yelled again.

"It's alright Aoko, Kaito-kun isn't here right now, but I am."   She heard her father's voice.  It seemed to be coming from somewhere behind the shed.

"Tousan!  Kaito's out there, he's the Kid, and somebody's shooting at him!  Can you see where he is?" she called to him.

Anther shot rang out, and Aoko heard something hit the shed, followed by a groan.

"Kaito?" she asked.  There was no response, and no answering shot rang out.  She had a very bad feeling about this.  "Kaito! ... Kaito!" she called, louder this time.  She heard nothing but another groan.  This was definitely bad.  "_Kaito!_"

*****************

On the roof, Kaito could hear her cries, and he had to bite his lip and hold himself very still to keep from revealing his presence to her father in the room below.  'Dammit old man, get out of there!  Can't you hear it's _me _she needs?' he thought, and wasn't completely able to suppress his moan of frustration.  She sounded quite frantic, and it was making him frantic as well.

Aoko was clearly becoming more and more upset, and her father was at something of a loss as to how to calm her.  He had always held Mariko until she was sleeping quietly again, but Mariko had always called for _him_.

"Kaito!  _Kaito!_" Aoko screamed, thrashing around so she almost fell off the bed.

Nakamori was so focused on catching his daughter and returning her to bed that he almost missed hearing the faint scratching sounds and muffled groan which seemed to be coming from the roof.  He didn't get to be a detective without a quick mind though, whatever the Kid might intimate, and it didn't take much for him to put two and two together.

"Kuroba, I know you're up there." Nakamori said sternly, "You may as well get back in here."

In a flash Kaito was through the window again, and he hurried over to the bed.  "I'm here Aoko, it's alright.  I promised I'd be back, didn't I?"

She reached for his hand, and gripped it tightly.  "Kaito!" she mumbled happily.

"Don't worry, I'm not going anywhere," he promised, and glanced up at her father with a mixture of trepidation, hope and pain.

"You should stay the night here, and it might be best if you were on the bed." Nakamori sighed.

"On the...bed?" Kaito tried to suppress a blush.

"_On_ the bed," Nakamori glared, "not _in_ the bed!"

Feeling supremely uncomfortable, Kaito climbed onto the bed under the watchful eye of her father.

*****************

Aoko tried desperately to ignore the urge to start crying.  She had no proof that Kaito was hurt any worse than the one wound she had seen before, no reason to think he was...  She whimpered, refusing to even think...

All of a sudden the wall she was half-leaning against slid to one side.  She almost screamed, but a gloved hand was placed over her mouth.

"I'm here Aoko, it's alright.  I promised I'd be back, didn't I?" Kaito whispered in her ear as he closed the previously hidden door.

"Kaito!" she said happily once he let go of her mouth, "I thought... I thought..."

"Don't worry, I'm not going anywhere," he reassured her, "at least, not without you.  It's safe for the moment, I think.  I shot the gun away off the roof, and I don't think he has another.  Besides, there are lots of police around, they must be good for something, right?"

"_Grr..._" she snarled at him, but restrained the urge to grab a convenient item and go after him.  This was neither the time nor the place.

"C'mon, we're getting out of here." he told her firmly.  He walked quickly with her over to the edge of the roof.  "Good thing you're not afraid of heights." he laughed as he picked her up.  "Hold on tight now!"

She let out only a small "eep" as he jumped off the roof, deploying his glider, and they sailed off into the night.

*****************

"I'll call your mother to let her know you're staying the night." Nakamori said curtly as he turned to leave the room.  "Try to get some sleep, and I'll explain what I can to you in the morning."

Once he was gone, Kaito tentatively put one arm around Aoko and closed his eyes in an attempt to sleep. 

And there you have it folks!  As I said, some major emotional changes ahead, for all three of them, and poor Kaito's gonna have trouble keeping his "night job" secret…at least from some.  Next chapter includes the heist, and a lot of deep thinking on the part of both Nakamoris…and I['m sure more random other scenes which haven't presented themselves to me yet.

I hadn't intended Kaito to stay the night, he was just supposed to pop in on her briefly, hear her father coming home, and bolt once Nakamori had her calm, but Aoko was rather insistant. *sighs*  When will my characters listen to me?  *pouts*  This chapter just kept going on and on, but ah well, looking at some of the greats of this fandom, I guess 4500 words or so isn't too bad, right?


	4. 3 Far Away on the Other Side

Hey there again everybody!  Just got back from a crazy con in Vancouver where I was dressed as Subaru from Fushigi Yuugi the whole three days.  I now officially hate baby powder.  Anyway, I really wanted to get to the heist in this chapter, but it was getting ridiculously out of hand, so I decided to take pity on all of you and not make you read an over 10,000 word chapter, so I broke it off at the most logical point I could find.  Hope you like some of the back story I've set up!

Moonlight Shadow

Chapter 03:

Far Away on the Other Side

The night wind sighed happily as it slipped in the open bedroom window belonging to one Nakamori Aoko in order to tousle the hair of the boy sleeping peacefully there.  Whether you called him Kuroba Kaito or Kaitou Kid, the night wind and he were old, old friends.  She ran her ethereal fingers across his face, then that of Nakamori Aoko, sleeping next to him, encouraging her to cuddle closer for warmth and comfort, then with another satisfied sigh She slipped back out the window again.

Sometime around dawn, Kaito slowly woke up, feeling more rested than he had for days, even given his reduced amount of sleep that night.  He felt warm even though he was on top of the covers, and there was an unaccustomed weight on his chest.  Lifting his head just enough to look down, he sighed with somewhat guilty pleasure.  The warmth, the weight on his chest, it was Aoko - somehow as they slept, she had snuggled into his chest, wrapping her arms around him, and while he certainly wouldn't complain about such a state of affairs, she most definitely would if she woke up and found him there.  He toyed briefly with the idea of leaving now, before Nakamori Sr. woke up and wanted to...talk...to him, but decided against it.  It was going to be hard enough work listening to the story without letting on that he already knew much of it, it would simply be too suspicious if he took off _without_ asking for some explanation, given as how he _shouldn't _have any idea of what was really going on with Aoko.  Moving very slowly and carefully, he unwrapped the arm she had thrown over him, then slid sideways, supporting her head until he could pull a pillow under it.  He felt a sharp sense of loss without her warmth against him and sighed.  

'Better forget any thought you ever had of making this a habit, Kuroba.' he mentally chided himself, 'I doubt this is more than a one-time thing.  You'll just have to protect her from the shadows, without letting on that anything's up.  After all, you told Nakamori that her protector would be the Kid, it would be awfully suspicious if _you_ suddenly started acting protective too.'

He turned back one last time to drink in the sight of Aoko so peacefully asleep, peaceful being such a rare state for her, then silently closed the door most of the way and headed for the bathroom.  

Five minutes later, he was stretched out on the living room couch with his eyes closed, although he wasn't sleeping.  Instead, he was mentally preparing himself for the upcoming conversation.  It wasn't long before he heard Nakamori's heavy footsteps.  Kaito listened intently, tracing out his route by the floor-squeaks and the varying resonances as familiar to him in this house as his own.  Nakamori started in his own room, headed from there briefly into Aoko's room, then the bathroom, a couple of minutes later he headed down the hall, then he was in the living room.

Nakamori cleared his throat as he stood in front of the couch, and Kaito sat up immediately and shifted over so there was room for him to sit.

"I turned off Aoko's alarm clock," Nakamori said quietly, "she shouldn't wake up for another hour at least.  I suppose you want to know what's going on with her."

Kaito merely nodded, waiting for the older man to start his explanation.

"First, I have to ask:  How long have you known she's been having nightmares?"

Kaito counted back in his head.  "Since the night of the 24th of May, so four weeks less two days.  I had noticed she was really distracted that morning, so I decided to check in on her."

"Four weeks.  And you didn't say anything to me?"

"I got her calmed down easily enough," Kaito shrugged, "and you're a busy man."

Nakamori's glare said the topic was far from being dropped, and would be discussed again _in detail_ at a later date.  "Alright, I know this will sound rather incredible to you, it certainly did to me when I first heard it, but Aoko's mother came from a long line of miko, and that power has been passed down to Aoko.  She is just now beginning to come into her power.  That's where the bad dreams are coming from."

"A miko?" Kaito frowned, "I thought a miko was something any girl might train to be.  Has she been getting lessons or something?  She never told _me_ anything about them."

"No, she hasn't been getting lessons.  There are actually two kinds of miko, those who are trained as miko from a young age, and those who are born with power and have to wait for that power to blossom before they can be trained.  Aoko's mother, and her mother, and _her _mother, and so on back into antiquity, have all been miko, and their power is always primarily focused on healing.  Quite often they are also able to tell when someone close to them will be hurt through semi-prophetic dreams.  That is what I suspect is happening in this case.  Although Aoko hasn't awakened to her full miko power yet, her dreams are likely still pretty accurate.  Have you asked her what they're about?"

"No, I didn't want to let her know I've been sneaking into her room while she was sleeping." Kaito said with an emphatic shake of his head.

Nakamori _almost _chuckled at that.  He knew his daughter well enough to be able to quite adequately picture her reaction to such news.  "That's understandable, I suppose." he admitted, "Still, I'd be careful for a while if I were you.  Especially since she was calling for you."

Kaito nodded.  Being careful wasn't always exactly _easy_ given his night job, but he did try.

"And, Kaito-kun, I would like to ask a favour of you, if you would.  Being such a long-time friend of Aoko's, she wouldn't notice anything very strange if you started walking her to school from here.  I can't tell her what's going on with her being a miko yet, I was sworn to secrecy for her after her mother died, and I can't say anything to her about it until her power fully blossoms, but, well, let's just say there are certain people out there who would just love to get their hands on a true healing miko."  

The expression on Nakamori's face showed pain and fierce protectiveness, and for once Kaito was deeply grateful for the police inspector's dogged single-mindedness.

"And you want me to help protect her." Kaito finished for him.  Behind his mask of careful concern, the teen was doing mental backflips of elation.  He _wasn't_ going to have to be circumspect about his concerns and protectiveness of Aoko, he had _full parental permission_ to protect her.  "Don't worry Nakamori-san, I'll keep her safe."  He carefully adopted a thoughtful, concerned expression.  "Is that what happened to her mother?"

Nakamori nodded grimly, then looked sternly at Kaito.  "I want you to help protect Aoko, but keep in mind, if you take _any_ further liberties than I approve, you _will_ be spending time staked out over a large anthill covered in honey."

"Understood." Kaito shuddered, only partially for effect.  "Is there anything else you think I should know to help keep her safe?" he asked, privately quite glad now for this opportunity to get all the information he could.

For the next twenty minutes or so, they discussed what Nakamori knew about the men who had poisoned and killed his wife, and how best to keep Aoko safe from them.  Finally, Nakamori turned to Kaito.

"You'd better go home and change into your uniform before Aoko wakes up and wonders what you're doing here in your clothes from yesterday night." he pointed out, walking him to the door.

"Alright, I'll see you in a bit." Kaito said quietly and waved as he headed down the street.

Once he was sure Nakamori thought he was gone, he swiftly climbed the tree where he had stashed his backpack the night before.  It wouldn't do for Nakamori to find it there and open it to find a _very_ incriminating set of clothes.  He grabbed the bag and jumped down, then headed off home, whistling all the way.

"Tadaima!" 

Kuroba Meimi turned toward the front door as she heard her son come in.  "Okairi!  I'll make you some breakfast while you get changed." she called from the kitchen.

"Thanks, Kaachan!" he called back, "I'll be down to eat it in a minute."

Meimi smiled to herself as she listened to her son bustling around in his room.  Nakamori-keibu had explained very little on the phone last night, but it didn't surprise her at all that Kaito would be concerned and want to stay close by if Aoko-chan was feeling unwell.  He might think he was hiding his feelings expertly, but she had two advantages there.  First, of course, she was his mother, and as such she knew his every tiny unconscious gesture.  Above and beyond that, though, he was very much his father's son, and she remembered all too well what Toichi had been like around _her_ at Kaito's age.  All the teasing, all the extra special tricks...  She really ought to take Aoko-chan aside one of these days and have a little "girl-talk" about magicians and feelings and such.  And as for that other _secret _of Kaito's, well, she'd leave that for him to explain to Aoko-chan, but, Meimi sighed, she was going to have to be a bit more...insistent...about him _telling his dear mother things_ sometime soon.  She didn't let it bother her too much, though.  After all, he was a teenage boy now, so he couldn't be expected to tell her everything the way he had when he was five, and if he was out running around as Kid at least he wasn't getting into any _real_ trouble.  

"So, how is Aoko-chan feeling?" she asked as Kaito sat down at the table, "Any better this morning?"

"She was still sleeping when I left, but I do hope so." Kaito said fervently.  "At least she slept through the rest of the night."

"Will she be going to school then?  She doesn't have a cold or some kind of flu does she?"

"Nakamori didn't tell you much, did he."

"No, just that Aoko-chan wasn't feeling well and since she seemed to be calmer with you there you would be spending the night."

"Not feeling well...  Yeah, you could say that.  She's been having nightmares for the past month, and calling for me in her sleep."

"I thought she looked a little tired the last time she was here.  So _that's _where you've been sneaking off to so many more nights than usual this month."

Kaito nearly choked on his mouthful of rice.  "Yeah, I've been... checking up on Aoko.  And I gotta run.  I promised her dad I'd walk her to school from her house starting today." he managed not to splutter too badly as he drained his juice glass.

"Alright, have a good day at school then, dear." Meimi smiled at her son, "And tell Aoko-chan I hope she feels better soon."

"I will!  Ittekimasu!"

Aoko woke around 7:30, feeling strange.  She felt as though there should be someone else in the bed with her, although who that would be she couldn't guess, and she felt a now-insistent urge to share her dream last night with someone.

"Morning Aoko" her dad said when she got to the kitchen.

"Morning Tousan.  What are you doing up so early?"

"I've had a lot on my mind." he shrugged.

"Yeah, me too.  Um...Tousan, I know this is gonna sound weird, but... I've been having these strange dreams lately about the Kaitou Kid.  I meet him at one his heists or something, and he gives me some kind of moonstone, and sometimes his monocle as well, and then...he gets shot.  It's been making it really hard for me to sleep, and I just... I had to _tell_ someone.  I don't know why, I just had too."

Nakamori nodded.  "Your mother used to have bad dreams too sometimes, she always said it helped to talk them over.  I knew something must be wrong, I heard you calling out in your sleep last night.  I thought you were calling for the Kuroba boy, but I guess "Kaito" and "Kaitou" do sound awfully similar."

Aoko blushed brightly.  "I was calling out in my sleep?" she asked, chagrinned.  Somehow even with the compulsion she had to talk about her dreams, she emphatically _did not_ want to do anything or say anything which might bring suspicion to her friend, even if it _was_ only a weird dream, so she didn't mention the little fact that in her dream the two had been one and the same.

"Come to think of it, isn't the Kid's next heist a moonstone?" Aoko asked, "That's kindof a weird coincidence, isn't it?"

Nakamori merely shrugged and grunted noncommittally.  

Aoko was fairly used to her father being uncommunicative at times, so she didn't think much about his lack of an answer, and fell to her breakfast with as much gusto as she could muster.  With the dreams and her interrupted sleep and odd dreams lately, she found she didn't have much of an appetite in the morning.  Once she had managed enough breakfast to keep her going for at least a little while, she hurried back to her room to get ready for school.  She still had a kindof frantic feeling.  Just telling her father the dream wasn't going to be enough, she could feel it, but who else could she talk to about it?  Certainly not Kaito, he would just tease her... Of course!  With a smile and feeling better about things already, she ran her brush one last time through her hair, grabbed her bookbag and headed to the door.

"Ja, Tousan!" she called as she slipped on her shoes and stepped out the door.

"Morning Aoko!" she heard Kaito's cheerful voice sing out as she stepped onto the front porch.

She looked around, but at first she didn't see him.  Then she looked down, and there he was, sprawled bonelessly on the front steps, leaning his head back to view her upside down.  The morning sun gilded his features, making him gleam like some kind of heavenly being and it momentarily took her breath away.  Then, just as quickly, the spell was broken.  He casually wiggled his fingers at her in greeting, then, in one smooth motion, flipped to his feet.

"I thought I'd come and collect you, since you've been kinda out-of-it lately," Kaito shrugged.  "C'mon, let's get going, school waits for noone, you know!"

"I know, I know, sheesh, you're always so pushy!

"Pushy?  Me?  Perish the thought!  I am merely concerned with your educational welfare." he said, perfectly imitating Hakuba's phrasing and intonation, and doing a pretty decent job on the young detective's most common facial expression as well.

Aoko laughed briefly, then yawned.

"Geez Aoko, it wasn't _that_ bad of a joke." Kaito complained, turning around to walk backward in front of her.

"Sorry, I just haven't been sleeping too well lately." she apologized with another yawn.

"Why?  Having too much coffee or something?  I'd ask if you were getting into your dad's stash again, but then you wouldn't have a problem sleeping so much as getting up, ne?" he winked at her.  He was playing the facts about what he knew and how he knew it very close to his chest.  Life with all his assorted body parts intact greatly appealed to him, and he wasn't sure how she would take his concern for her, especially since it had involved him taking what might be seen by her as unwelcome liberties with her person.

"No!  Baka.  I've been having weird dreams, okay?  I sleep lots, but I just don't feel that rested."

"Weird dreams, ne?" he leered at her.

"I don't want to talk about them.  And they're _not _ecchi, so you just stop thinking that right now!" she snarled, and elbowed him hard in the ribs as she pushed past him.

It was a good thing she wasn't looking at him just then, because his ample imagination had suddenly provided a brand new interpretation of her moaning his name and writhing on the bed, and his face actually went bright red for a second until he was able to bring himself back under control.  She had gotten a couple of steps ahead of him by then, and he increased his pace to catch up, then walked alongside her.

"So if they're not ecchi, what are they about?"  he asked.

"I told you, I don't want to talk about them."

"You're the one who brought up the topic," Kaito shrugged.  'You're the one who's been calling for me in her sleep.  You're the one who's had me so worried.' he said silently behind his cheerful but indifferent mask.

"And now I'm sorry I did." Aoko grumped, "You never could take a hint on when not to ask about things."

"Hey!" Kaito almost snapped at her, "What's with you?  Am I not allowed to be a little concerned about my childhood friend when she's been looking worn out for almost a month _and I haven't asked her a thing about it that whole time_?!"

Aoko stopped dead in her tracks and turned to look at him.  He stopped as well and met her gaze clearly.  She felt herself almost back in one of her dreams again, falling into those deep pools of blue, and suddenly she felt quite faint.

Kaito was silently congratulating himself on having gotten her to at least look at him face to face, when she abruptly went pale.

"Um, Aoko, are you sure you're feeling okay?"  The concern was clear in Kaito's voice.

"I'm...not sure." she said shakily, "I know I had enough breakfast this morning... I just feel all...woozy all of a sudden."

And with that, her eyes rolled back and she fainted.

Kaito caught her before she could hit the ground, then, muttering a few of Nakamori's choicest phrases, cradled her close in his arms and headed for his house, since it was the closest.

"Kaito?  What are you doing back here?" his mother asked from the living room as she heard him come in, "Aren't you supposed to be at school in a few..."  She broke off as he came into the room carrying an unconscious Aoko who was just beginning to show signs of coming round.

With the air of a collector handling a delicate china doll, he set her down on the couch.

"What happened?" Meimi asked softly.

"I don't know, she just went pale all of a sudden, said she was feeling woozy, and passed out."  Kaito explained, and even if he wasn't letting himself show it, she could tell it worried him.

"Ooo...that was new." Aoko whispered as she opened her eyes.

"Okay, now that you're awake, I have to ask:  What happened back there?" Kaito asked.

"I'm not sure... I just... Suddenly I felt like I was back in one of my dreams, then I felt like I was falling, then I woke up here."

"You looked like you were getting all set to glare at me, then you went white as a sheet and passed right out, so I brought you here."

Aoko propped herself up on her elbows, then sat up.  "Well, whatever happened, I feel lots better now, and if we don't get going we'll be late for school."

"Oh no you don't." Kaito shook his head, "You're not going anywhere.  We're calling to school to excuse ourselves from class, and you're staying right here and getting some more rest, and I'm making sure you _get_ that rest."

"Almost right Kaito," his mother corrected, "except that _you will_ be going to school, and _I_ will be making sure Aoko-chan gets her rest."

"But..."  In his concern he had nearly forgotten the parental presence entirely.

"I won't hear any more excuses." she interrupted him before he could protest, "You miss enough school as it is, I won't have you missing any more."

"But Kaachan..."  he pleaded with his eyes.

"No Kaito, I'm going to have to be firm on this.  I can keep an eye on Aoko-chan just as well as you can, and I didn't have plans to go anywhere in particular today anyway."

"Hello...  I feel just fine, I'm sure I can go to school." Aoko interjected.  "I don't want to be a burden on you, Meimi-bachan."

"Now don't be ridiculous Aoko-chan.  You know perfectly well that you're like a daughter to me.  I won't let you push yourself when you're obviously not feeling well.  You just sit there and rest."  Meimi patted her on the shoulder, then took her son by the arm.  "Come now Kaito, off you go to school.  Now.  And I'll _know_ if you hide out here, and _you'll_ know about it later from me if you do, since I'll be expecting you to bring Aoko-chan's notes to her." she glared at him.

When she got him to the door, Kaito stopped her and pulled her close to whisper in her ear.  

"You have to call Nakamori and let him know what's happened, but don't let Aoko know you're calling him.  He'll explain more, but there's more going on than I've told you yet, okay?"

"Okay Kai-chan.  I would have called him anyway, you know.  I'll take good care of her for you, I promise." Meimi patted his head and winked, then physically pushed him out the door.

Kaito was internally churning with emotions the whole way to school, but he forced it down before class started.  He didn't want to give Akako any fuel for comments...or inferences...or... anything, really.  He allowed himself one deep breath before sliding his "happy face" into place, his cheerful, slightly bored expression projecting to the world the impression that it was a day just like any other day, that nothing at all was amiss.  He got a few odd looks from Akako, and a full-out glare from Hakuba, although that was probably more to do with the heist coming up tomorrow night than him noticing Aoko's absence or any change in Kaito's emotional state.  Keiko, of all people, was the one who gave him a knowing look when he explained that Aoko was sick and staying at his house today, where his mother could keep an eye on her, since her father had to work.  He studiously ignored all three of them, and bent to his work.

After she had sent her son off to school, Meimi Kuroba headed back to the living room to look after the needs of the girl she privately liked to think of as her future daughter-in-law.  She had such spirit...always had since childhood, really...and Meimi wondered if that wasn't what had attracted Kaito to her in the first place.  She grabbed one of the spare pillows and a blanket from the hall closet and brought them to Aoko, who was still sitting on the couch.

"There you go my dear, make yourself comfortable while I call the school to let them know where you are and that you won't be in today." Meimi reassured her.

"Okay, Meimi-bachan" Aoko sighed, resigned to the couch, at least for the time being.  She curled up with the pillow and flicked on the TV, although she despaired of actually finding anything all that interesting to watch.  With an air of boredom, she began flipping channels.

The call to school was made without any difficulties, just a quick bit of explanation, and the assurance that there was no need for them to call Nakamori-keibu, she would let him know what was going on, and it was all taken care of.  She hung up cheerfully, then took a deep breath and dialed Nakamori's cel number.

"Nakamori here." he answered somewhat curtly.

"Ginzo-san?  This is Meimi."

"Meimi-san?  Why are you calling?  Tomorrow _is_ a Kid heist, you know.  Although I'm still enroute, so I suppose I have a minute or two."

"I'm sorry to interrupt your busy day, but Kaito insisted I call you.  It seems Aoko-chan wasn't feeling as well as she thought.  She passed out on the way to school, and Kaito brought her here to rest."

Nakamori swore fervently, then caught himself.  "I apologize, Meimi-san."

"I've heard worse and you know it, Ginzo-san, no need to apologize.  It's obvious that you would be worried about your daughter's health." Meimi assured him.

"It's not so much her physical health, that's only a temporary side-effect, it's her emotional health I'm worried about." he said with a sigh.  He went on to explain to her a very concise version of what was going on with Aoko, omitting only the bulk of his conversation with the Kaitou Kid.

"Not to worry, Ginzo-san, I'll keep an eye on Aoko-chan here, and send her home with Kaito when he gets back from school." she reassured him.

Aoko still hadn't found anything worth watching by the time Meimi came back, so she turned the TV off and shifted so there was room for Meimi on the couch.

"You know, Meimi-bachan, I'm actually kindof glad I'm here with you instead of sitting at home alone." Aoko admitted.

Meimi laughed gently.  "You know you're always welcome here.  Anytime you're sick at home, you just come right on over.  Or call me and I'll go over there."  she looked over at Aoko.  "You look tired, Aoko-chan, have you not been sleeping well?"

"Actually, I haven't.  I've been having the _weirdest _dreams..."

Nakamori Ginzo, Tokyo Police Inspector in charge of the taskforce to catch the elusive Kaitou Kid, was feeling very... conflicted.  He was carefully going over a warehouse belonging to an import company called Tama Industries, listed owner one Takage Daisuke, in which was being temporarily stored the target of Kaitou Kid's latest heist, a moonstone known as the Angel's Tear, on its way to its new owner, one Hirano Takahiro.  He was, in fact, closely examining the very vault in which said moonstone was being stored for the duration of its time here.  It would be _so damned easy_ to just slip the two-inch-long gem into his pocket right now.  He could have simply brought the replacement along, waited for an opportune moment - when he was testing the security system shut-off, for example - and done a simple one-for-one switch.  It was even something he knew how to do.  His old friend Kuroba Toichi had, after a fair amount of pestering on Ginzo's part, taught him a few slight-of-hand tricks, back in the days when he was still alive, and their children were young.  All he had to do was hide the fake in his shirt cuff, then trade them places when he picked the gem up, put the fake back on the pedestal, and slip the real stone into his pocket later and walk right out with it.  

He couldn't really have done it, though.  For one thing, the Kid would be coming for the Angel's Tear tomorrow, and had already agreed to give it to Aoko, and for another thing **he was a policeman, dammit, he shouldn't even be _thinking_ of stealing things!**  

And thus the conflicting feelings.  As an officer of the law, he was bound by that law just as surely as any citizen.  Was bound even more closely, in fact, since there were extra laws specifically governing his conduct as a part of his job, but there was a part of him which longed to escape those bindings.  As the widower of a woman who had been killed over this very jewel, that part wanted to_ take the gem right now_, wanted to use his power and position to bring whatever charges he could dig up or create against the very suspicious-seeming Hirano-san and equally cagey Takage-san and damn the evidence, but he _couldn't do that_!  The mere fact that he was cooperating with his sworn enemy, just this once, was disturbing enough.  He couldn't even imagine how he would live with himself if he allowed his baser instincts to take over him in such a way.  It didn't stop him from thinking it, though.

"So, Nakamori-keibu, what's your impression of the Kid's chances?" Takage-san asked as the inspector stood out of the crouch he had been in while examining the pedestal and stretched.

"You won't be able to keep him from getting in, or getting his hands on the Angel's Tear, you just don't have the time to make the necessary structural changes to the building itself, but my men _should_ be able to keep him from getting away, with a little luck.  To be quite frank, there aren't many places which could keep him out, the best we can hope for most of the time is to get him to drop the object of his heist before he makes his escape." Nakamori said with a frustrated sigh.  "We just never have enough time between getting his notice and the date of the heist to set up an elaborate enough trap to detain him."

"Well, I can promise you we'll do everything in our power to help you get the Kid tomorrow night." Takage-san said with a smile.  

Something about that smile sent a chill right through Nakamori.  Especially when he remembered what his daughter had told him of her dreams that morning.

"There's no need to put yourself at any risk, certainly, but we do appreciate whatever resources you are willing to make available to us." Nakamori said guardedly.

"Not at all, not at all," Takage-san cheerfully waved him off, "I'm only too happy to help in any way I can, of _course_ you will be provided with all the security forces we have on hand as backup for your own men."

"Once again, I thank you for your help and cooperation.  I'll be back tomorrow to help set up the final countermeasures, in the meantime, just keep an eye out for anything or any_one_ unusual."

"Understood."

Nakamori could have sworn the man was _leering_ at him.

"... So you see, even though I _know_ they're just dreams, just my subconscious creating bizarre situations and making them seem real, and of course they can't _be_ real, I still keep getting this really bad feeling about tomorrow night... like Kaito's going to do something really dangerous.  And I meant to say 'the Kid'...again." Aoko concluded with a deep sigh.

"I can see how that could be worrisome, the two have become so entwined in the world of your dreams that even when you're awake you're still mixing them up." Meimi nodded.  "Let me get your mind off it.  I'll tell you a story, how's that."

Aoko grinned and nodded.  She had always loved Meimi-bachan's stories.

"Some years ago there was a somewhat shy young woman.  She was in highschool, like you are now, and mostly she was happy.  Except for one thing.  There was this boy in her class, he fancied himself a magician...wasn't all that bad really, truth be told, and he _never left her alone_!  Sure they were friends, had been almost from the moment they met, but she couldn't understand why it was he felt it necessary to use all his craziest, most disruptive magic tricks exclusively on her..."

"This is sounding awfully familiar, Meimi-bachan." Aoko pointed out.

"I know dear, now don't interrupt.  In any case, the girl and the magician fell into a pattern.  He would taunt and tease her, or show her his latest trick at the most disruptive and inopportune moment, she would scream bloody murder at him, then studiously ignore him in revenge until he apologized so sweetly and sincerely that she couldn't help but forgive him.  Things went on like this almost until the end of their graduating year.  It was then that the girl happened to be in just the wrong place at the wrong time.  On a dare from two of her best girlfriends she was to sneak into the National Library after dark and leave a keychain they had given her on the roof so she could prove to them she had been there.  What the girls hadn't taken into account, hadn't even realized, actually, was that on that same night a thief the newspapers had dubbed "The White Bandit" had broken into a museum and escaped with a valuable artifact.  After all, what had such a thief to do with them?  Now, the girl had lots of practice sneaking in and out of places - her parents were a little strange, and had taught her things such as how to pick a simple lock "just in case she ever got locked out" - so sneaking into the library was no real trouble.  She quickly made it to the roof and placed the keychain in the agreed-upon spot, then she made an almost fatal error: she went over near the edge of the roof to look at the amazing view of the city all lit up at night.  Suddenly she heard a whoosh of air, followed by the sound of scuttling footsteps on the roof behind her.  She spun around, thinking a guard had realized she was there, and saw what she thought was a ghost standing not three feet from her.  In the rush of adrenaline and fear she forgot that she was at the edge of the roof, and backed up.  She barely had time to realize she was falling when she felt arms come around her, and then she was flying.  Even being so close in his arms, she wasn't able to get a very good look at her rescuer.  She knew he wasn't a ghost, though, she could feel his heart beating almost as fast as hers.  He never said a thing to her, just flew her carefully to the ground then disappeared into the night, it wasn't until she read in the paper the next day about the White Bandit that she realized who her rescuer actually was, and after that she kept him a secret locked inside her heart, for she had fallen into what she thought must be love.  She was always going to places the thief was reported to be planning to steal from, trying to catch a glimpse of him, but she was always very circumspect about it.  The only one who really noticed the difference in her was her friend the magician.  She still yelled at him when he teased her, still pointedly ignored him afterwards, but her heart just wasn't in it the way it had been.  The loss of her undivided attention made him upset and more than a little jealous, and also made him realize that he would have to change his tactics if he wanted to keep her close to him forever, the way he was coming to realize he needed, so one day he cornered her on the roof of the school and told her the truth.  And with the truth now before her, the girl came to see that what she felt for the White Bandit was merely attraction and admiration, and it was with the magician that her heart truly lay.  She flung herself into his arms and he kissed her, then they went back to class.  And although he still teased her, and she still screamed at him, each now knew where the other stood, and they were never after apart, even when they were far from each other.  Even though she _did_ still think that White Bandit was _awfully_ cute."  Meimi smiled as she finished her story.

"It was the Kid, wasn't it?  The one you had a crush on?  The one who saved you?" Aoko asked.

Meimi laughed.  "I never said the story was about me," she protested, "but yes, he was the thief who came to be named Kaitou Kid.  You have to remember, now, that was right at the beginning of his career, before he was the international Kaitou 1412, so he wasn't called "Kid" in those days."

"I can't believe he saved you like that!"

"Kaitou Kid is a bit of a different kind of thief from the norm.  He greatly values human life, and it was, after all, mostly his fault that I fell off the roof in the first place."

"Did you ever still go to watch the Kid after you and Toichi-jichan got together?"

Meimi laughed gaily.  "I most _certainly_ did, but that is a story for another day," she admonished.  "Right now it is time for you to see if you can't get a little more sleep."

Aoko pouted cutely.

Meimi chuckled.  "You should try that one on Kai-chan sometime.  He'd probably fall all over himself to do whatever you asked of him.  Especially with your present pose."  She indicated the way Aoko was lounging on the couch with her head propped on one hand, her elbow resting on the arm of the couch and the other arm trailing across her belly to pick at the fluffballs on the fabric.  Add to that the fact that her legs were curled beside her in a most relaxed manner, the very becoming fullness of her lower lip, and her beseeching expression, and she was the very image of innocent sensuality.

Aoko blushed brightly, then laughed.  "No need for cute pouting when I have my handy dandy mop!" she grinned.

"To each their own, I suppose." Meimi agreed.  "Now it's time for sleep."

Aoko sighed, then stretched out on the couch with a yawn, and Meimi tucked her in.

"Oyasumi, Aoko-chan." 

And just maybe someday I'll actually write that story…depends on how soon I get this one done.  I have all kinds of ideas for it sketched out, had to in order to come up with Meimi's bedtime story.  Oh yeah, and speaking of Meimi…. GOMEN! I couldn't resist!  It's just to perfect a name to not put it in!

And on a final note, as a famous young man once said in one of my favourite plays (the One Man Star Wars Trilogy) "Exposition, exposition, exposition!"


	5. 4 I Watched Your Vision Forming

Back into civilization, and I had a bit of a writing spree while I was gone.  And characters kept DOING things when they weren't supposed to.  Ah well, in any case, the heist IS in the next chapter, and I know this because I actually do have part of it written now.  Lots of exciting things happen too!  Enjoy!

Moonlight Shadow 

Chapter 04:

I Watched Your Vision Forming

For once as she slept, Aoko didn't dream her now-familiar dreams.  Instead, her mind harkened back to the story she had been told, and the love that bloomed between an ordinary girl and a boy who fancied himself a magician.  She woke feeling remarkably refreshed, and glowingly happy.  She got up with a smile, folded her blanket and took it and the pillow back to the cupboard, then went looking to see if there was anything to be done around the house.

Kaito stretched and yawned as class finally finished, then accosted Keiko for the extra notes she always took for Aoko when the inspector's daughter wasn't in class.  He thanked her politely with a carnation then headed home, whistling tunelessly.

When he got to his house, he could hear some sort of activity in the kitchen, so he silently let himself in the front door, dumped his bag in the living room, and snuck over to the kitchen to check it out.  Obviously Aoko must be feeling _much _better.  She and his mother were busily decorating cookies, and both of them had icing on their hands, aprons and faces.  Aoko even had one strategically placed dollop right on the tip of her nose, and he wondered for one brief, insane moment if he might be able to lick it off.  Right at that instant, Aoko looked up and met his eyes with a blush on her face, and he wondered if she was psychic.  Then he thought better of thinking such a thing.  The psychic part, anyway, he had no qualms with the licking icing off her part.

"I see you're back from school double-quick."  Aoko observed.

"And you thought you could sneak up on us, too." his mother smiled.  "No cookies until after dinner, you know the rules." she rapped his knuckles lightly with her wooden spoon as he surreptitiously reached for the plate of finished cookies on the counter.

"What about icing?" he grinned madly as he swiped his finger down Aoko's nose, catching the cutely-placed dollop of icing, then stuck his finger in his mouth, watching the flickering flames light up in her eyes.  "Yummy!" he said, still sucking on his finger.

It never did take much to get her going, and with an incoherent yell she grabbed a wooden spoon and took off after him as he ran down the hall, munching on a cookie he had filched as he left.  Unfortunately, in her haste Aoko had picked up the spoon they had been using for the blue icing, and she managed to splatter both herself and Kaito quite thoroughly, not to mention the speckles of blue icing which were now decorating the walls and floor all down the length of the hall.

"Oh!  Are you giving me more icing?  Thanks!" Kaito laughed as he danced away from her quick swings and jabs.  He reached past her guard to sweep his thumb over her cheekbone, where there was another large splatter of icing, dodging her retaliatory lunge at the very last second.

Her face went even brighter red than before, and Aoko screamed the vilest imprecation she could come up with on such short notice.

"Now don't go wearing yourself out again Aoko-chan!" Meimi called from the kitchen.

Aoko turned at the sound of her voice, and Kaito took advantage of her temporary distraction to disarm her gently.

"Kaachan's right, you're not well, so I shouldn't be baiting you.  Sorry about that, force of habit, I guess." he shrugged, then started licking the icing off the spoon.

"Kaito, you'd better go take a shower to get all that icing off now while Aoko and I finish with these cookies.  Then you can clean up the icing in the hall."

"Hai Kaachan." he sang out obediently.

Some time later, after both of them had washed up and dinner had been prepared and eaten, Kaito escorted Aoko back to her house.  Neither of them said anything to the other during that short walk, and it wasn't until they reached Aoko's front door that Kaito broke the unfamiliar silence.

"Will you be going to school tomorrow?" he asked her.

"I think so.  I'll certainly try." she shrugged.

"I'll see you in the morning then.  Oyasumi nasai, Aoko." Kaito said with a grin.  "I hope your dreams are good tonight.  No more nightmares, now, that's an order!"

"Hai hai." she waved him off.  She stood at her door and watched him walk away until he was out of sight.  "I don't remember ever mentioning I was having nightmares.  Weird dreams, sure, but not nightmares." she muttered thoughtfully.

Takage Daisuke sat in his downtown office, impatiently tapping his pen on his desk.  The operative Hirano-san had sent to him on assurance he was the best was late.  A whole five minutes late already.  Takage hated tardiness.  Hated it with a passion!  He was absolutely fuming by the time the operative finally arrived a whole six minutes and twenty-seven seconds late.

"You're late." he said sternly as the operative sauntered in.

The man in the black trenchcoat simply shrugged and sat down.  "Hirano-san said you have a job for me?"

"Yes.  Tomorrow night one of my buildings will be the target of Kaitou Kid's latest heist.  I've studied the Kid's reputation, and I seriously doubt the police can keep him from getting his target.  I want you to deal with him for me.  He CAN NOT be allowed to escape with it.  Do whatever it takes to keep him from escaping with the gem in hand."

"Will do.  Is there anyone I absolutely _must_ avoid taking out if they get in the way?"

"No, I don't care who else gets hit, just as long as Kid is dealt with.

"Fine then." the operative nodded with a feral grin.

When Kaito got home from dropping Aoko off, his mother sat him down on the couch.

"Okay Kaito, we need to have a serious talk," she told him.

"About what?" he asked.

"Well, firstly, about your father."

"About Touchan?"  Kaito unconsciously took out a deck of cards and began shuffling them nervously.

"Yes.  Did you know your father and I enjoyed a very open and honest relationship?  We talked to each other about everything under the sun, and we kept no secrets from each other."

"You mean..."

"Don't interrupt.  There was a very good reason behind this.  When I was in highschool, I got into a foolish situation, and a man in a white suit with a hangglider rescued me.  I later realized he was the thief who would come to be called Kaitou Kid.  In the way these things often happen, I developed a crush on the brave and gallant thief who had saved me from certain death.  Your father and I were already good friends at the time, perhaps just on the verge of becoming more than friends, and Toichi was getting more and more put out with me mooning over this thief so he cornered me at lunch one day up on our school roof and explained a few facts to me.  The first of which being that _he_ was the one who had rescued me.  I hadn't told him, hadn't told _anybody_, about having been rescued that night, so naturally I was stunned.  Then I was furious with him for not having told me at the time.  It didn't take me long to understand, though, why it was he hadn't said anything.  He didn't want me to be culpable as an accessory to his crimes, and he knew me well enough that he knew I would try to come along.  He'd had a long talk with his mother though, and she had told him that if he felt that strongly about me I would have to find out sooner or later, and better sooner, before the truly bizarre love triangle escalated.  The family frowns greatly on casually mentioning things to outsiders, but in the case of those who are likely to become part of that family in the near future it's better they know.  Now I've decided it's time I continue that tradition.  First, let me be completely frank with you.  I've known what you were doing as Kaitou Kid from the minute you found Toichi's secret room, I was merely waiting for you to come to me.  Why did you think that tape broke anyway?  That was because I used to spend hours listening to it after your touchan died.  You're a little too much like your father, you know, always trying to keep everyone you care about safely away from the dangers you surround yourself with.  It's an admirable trait, but it can be taken too far.  After talking to Aoko-chan about her dreams today, I decided it was time to bring things out into the open.  I know Nakamori-san told you her dreams are most likely prophetic.  He told me as well, so it's just a good thing I have a good poker face, otherwise I might have said something I shouldn't have when she told me her dreams had been about Kaitou Kid getting shot, only in her dream she recognized you.  The other important point in this dream was that you gave her the objective of your heist, a large moonstone."

Kaito swore quietly and gripped the cards he had been shuffling.

"Yes, that about says it," his mother agreed.  "There is a good side to all this, however.  She has been having these dreams for so long she's actually become quite accustomed to thinking of you as Kid.  And, she told me, even though she told her father about the dreams, she only said they were about Kaitou Kid and carefully made no mention of your name.

Kaitou let out a breath he hadn't even realized he was holding.  "So I'm safe for today at least.  As soon as Aoko figures out the dreams are real, though, I'm gonna have to do a lot of fast talking to persuade her to give me a chance to get away.  And then who would protect her?"  He shook his head sadly.  "Kaachan, did Nakamori explain to you why it is he's asked me to keep a close eye on Aoko from now on?"

"I assumed it was in case this stage she's going through made her sicker."

Kaito shook his head.  "It's because of what she will become.  In fact, he's not the only one who asked me to protect her.  It turns out that she and her dad have been in hiding since Aoko was two, after her mother died.  Even Aoko doesn't know.  She thinks her mother died of a simple wasting sickness, but that couldn't be further from the truth.  She was poisoned with thallium by the same syndicate which killed Touchan."

This time it was Meimi who gasped with shock.

"They wanted access to the legendary healing power the miko of her line had when in conjunction with the Tenshi no Namida moonstone," Kaito continued, "and didn't believe she didn't know where it was, so they killed her in the slowest, most painful way possible, so that she would be forced to produce the gem to save her own life."

"Oh poor Aoko-chan.  And now, of course, if they find out who she is, they'll be after her too."

Kaito nodded.  "Exactly."

Meimi sighed.  "Well, I don't think you're as badly off as all that.  I'm sure you think Aoko-chan will turn you in the moment she realizes who you are, but I think she may surprise even herself, given the depth of feeling she's hiding."

"But she hates the Kid."

"That may be so, but consider what happened to her mother.  Do you think, when she learns that, she won't want revenge?"

Kaito sighed deeply.  "So in the end it comes down to the choice I had hoped I would never force her to make."

"It would have eventually anyway, and _much_ better sooner than later.  You're already going to have a fair bit of explaining to do.  I'm still a little disappointed that you didn't come to me on your own, you know.  Did you honestly think I'd try to stop you?  Or be angry with you?  Baka Kai-chan!" she hit him lightly on the head.  "I'm actually quite proud of you, and I know your touchan would be too."

"Really?" Kaito's face brightened.

"Really." his mother assured him.

"Alright Kaachan, I promise I'll talk to Aoko as soon as I can."

"Good enough, I suppose.  Now you get to bed.  You have a late night tomorrow, and _no sneaking off to check in on Aoko-chan._  She can survive one more night of strange dreams, but if you want to get that moonstone for her tomorrow, you're going to need a proper night's rest tonight."

"Hai Kaachan." Kaito said, resigned.  He wondered if, now that things were out in the open between his mother and him, she would be nagging at him to do more research for his heists, and ordering him to bed like this the night before every heist.  The thought made him faintly disturbed for some reason.

In her dreams that night, Aoko was on the roof of the National Library.  She had landed there with Kaito, Kid, whoever, and she was getting really worried.  His left pant leg was crimson with blood, and his face was as white as his suit.

"Kami-sama.  Kaito, why didn't you tell me how bad it was?!"

He gave her a shaky smile she was sure was meant to be reassuring.  "Daijoubu." he whispered.  "Besides, I had to get you out of there."  

"Baka baka _BAKA_ Kaito!!" she screamed, on the verge of tears, "You pushed yourself too hard!  I can't believe you!  Sit down here and give me some of those damn scarves you're always carrying around."  She helped him over to a switchbox, which looked to be about the right height, and sat him down.  With quick and nimble fingers she untied a few of the silk scarves and folded two of them into pads, which she placed over the entrance and exit wounds.  Ordering him to hold these in place, she then tied them down tightly with a third scarf.

"Itai!" Kaito yelped.

"Sorry, but I had to tie it good and tight or it wouldn't have been any help."

"I know, I know.  But Aoko, what are you going to do with me now?  I can't exactly go to the hospital looking like this, you know."

"I know.  I _know_!  Dammit Kaito, don't you think I _realize_ that?"  She _was_ crying now, the tears streaming down her face.

"Aoko," he said softly, "no matter what happens, I'm glad you know now.  So glad.  And," he tipped her face up to make her look at him, "I'm so, so sorry." He leaned forward ever-so-slightly and kissed her gently.  

She closed her eyes, and could feel herself start to fall again, but she fought against it.  She was going to _help_ Kaito.  She was sure she could, somehow.

"Aoko, I sure hope your father knows what he's talking about for once." she heard Kaito whisper as he pulled back briefly from the kiss.

She opened her eyes...  And she was back in her own bed.  Her whole body was tingling, and she could tell there was no way she was going to get back to sleep anytime soon.  She lay back down and stared at the ceiling, trying to puzzle out the meaning behind her most recent dream.

Kaito had waited as long as he could in an effort to seem like he was complying with his mother's order to go to sleep, but now he had to go out.  He had to get that fake Angel's Tear from Nakamori.  He had decided he would pretend he had been forced to drop it during the heist.  That way, they would be less likely to suspect a counterfeit.  Kid grinned as he dangled by one hand from the edge of the roof in front of Aoko's window.  It looked like she was sleeping peacefully, and her window was open, as opposed to her father's, which was closed, so he figured he should be able to sneak in through her room.  It was such a relief to see her asleep in her bed without tossing and turning.  He casually slipped in the open window and snuck across the floor.

He was about halfway to the door when she sat up.

"You thought I was asleep, didn't you." she said softly.

"I did think you were lying there a little more quietly than usual." he admitted, using Kid's voice.

"And how would you know what's 'usual' for me?" she asked suspiciously.

"I've seen you waving your little placards at my various engagements." he pointed out smoothly.  "Now, I have an appointment to keep with your otousan.  If you will excuse me, ojousan."

"You...have an appointment...with Tousan?  I must still be dreaming." Aoko muttered quizzically.

"Just close your eyes, and when you open them you'll be somewhere else." he reassured her.

"But Kaito's not kissing me.  That only happens when Kaito's kissing me.  And if this is a dream, then you are Kaito anyway." she sulked, lying back on her bed and closing her eyes.

"Sweet dreams, Aoko." he whispered in his own voice as he continued to her door.

"Be safe Kaito." she whispered back.

When he was out of the room, he leaned against the wall to catch his breath and re-centre himself.  He couldn't get those words out of his head: "that only happens when Kaito's kissing me".  It had almost sounded like she had been implying he _should_ kiss her, and that thought made his ears absolutely burn, not to mention the bright blush it painted across his cheeks.  He swiftly got himself back under control, though, by imagining Nakamori's reaction to seeing the Kid kissing his daughter.  Internally balanced once again, he proceeded down the hall to the inspector's room.

The light was on in his room, although the door was closed, so Kid knocked lightly.

"Come on in, Aoko." Nakamori called.

"Not quite Aoko," the Kid corrected him, "but I believe you were expecting me?"

"Ah yes.  You.  I guess you need this, don't you?" He reached into his desk drawer and brought out a flawless, two-inch-long teardrop-cut moonstone.

"Thank you." Kaitou Kid said politely as he took the gem, then made it disappear.  "I plan to drop this one for that nice Hirano-san, so he doesn't have to go looking for it.  Do you think you can manage to make it look like you're actually that close to catching me?"

"Of course." Nakamori's grin was only _slightly_ feral.  Then he frowned.  "I know this will sound strange, coming from me, but be careful out there tomorrow.  Aoko's dreams have been about you getting shot after giving her a moonstone, and although I'd love to see you locked up for the rest of your natural life, I would rather not see you dead."

"I have no great desire to be dead either." Kid agreed.  

"You came in Aoko's window, didn't you?" Nakamori asked conversationally,  "How was she sleeping?  She was shouting 'baka' a lot about twenty minutes ago."

"Actually, she was half-awake, so I should probably not leave through her window again." Kid answered in the same air of casual conversation.  "I managed to make her think she was still dreaming, but I shouldn't push my luck."  He walked over to Nakamori's window and opened it, then hopped up onto the sill.  "Ja ne, Inspector, I'll see you tomorrow night!" he called back as he pulled himself onto the roof.

As she had rolled over and listened to the almost-silent tread of Kaitou Kid walking out of the room, Aoko had waited patiently for the dream-scene to change once again.  She waited and waited, but nothing happened.  Finally she realized she'd been duped.  She heard a knock, and knew it had to be the Kid knocking on her father's door, so she got out of bed and went to listen at the door.  She knew of one particularly good spot where you could hear almost everything that went on in her dad's room, so she heard the whole conversation.  She also heard the swearing that followed the Kid's departure.  After that, she carefully crept back to her bed, with an awful lot to think about.  Not the least of which was what the Kid had said to her when he thought she thought she was dreaming.  He'd said "sweet dreams, Aoko" and he had sounded _exactly_ like Kaito.  It took her quite a while to get back to sleep.

First thing next morning, Kaito was once again lounging on Aoko's front step.  She was a bit bleary-eyed, but determined to hide it.  She didn't want to miss any more school over something so silly as lost sleep.  Although she had to admit, that passing out thing yesterday had been _very_ disconcerting.  And annoying; she hated playing the "helpless maiden" role.  There was another reason she didn't want to be sitting at home today as well.  In the middle of the night last night, she had come to some rather disturbing conclusions, and also a plan of attack to confirm or deny them.

Kaito was feeling edgy.  Between the warnings about tonight's heist, having to cooperate with Nakamori, the discussion yesterday with his mother, Aoko's comments when she thought she was asleep, and his usual pre-heist nerves, he didn't quite know whether he was coming or going emotionally.  He could be forgiven, then, for not paying very close attention to what Aoko was saying as she chattered away on their walk to school, letting his brain supply answers on automatic pilot.  Normally it wouldn't have been a problem, but today Aoko was being sneaky.

"So anyway, I was wondering yesterday," she said casually, "how did you know I've been having nightmares?"

"Because if they were just weird dreams, why would you sound so scared and be crying in your sleep?" he answered logically.

"And how was it you knew I've been crying in my sleep?"  Her casual conventional voice had an edge to it now.

Kaito picked up on the change in her tone and did a quick mental conversation review.  When he realized just what it was he'd said, he swore.

"Well?  I'm waiting for an answer."

"Well, you see, I was worried about how distracted you were getting, so I went over to your place one night to talk to you, only you were asleep and having what looked like a nightmare.  You called for me, you know." he defended himself.

"Oh I did, did I?" she grated.

"Yes, you did.  And I was worried, okay?  So yes, before you ask, I did sneak into your room and try to get you to calm down, but that's all.  When you stopped whimpering and calling for me, I left again, okay?"

Something in his tone made Aoko blush slightly.  She was very tempted to get after him with the nearest available object (this being her schoolbag full of heavy books) but she remembered her plan and refrained.

"And what exactly did 'calming me down' involve?" she asked him suspiciously.

Kaito had a feeling this question had to do with her comment last night about him kissing her, so he answered it honestly.  After all, he hadn't done anything _really_ bad.  "Um, well, I stroked your hair back from your face and held your hand, and I think I patted your shoulder a few times, and I told you I was there and you were safe and stuff like that."

"You didn't, um, kiss me, did you?" she muttered, her ears turning red.

"No!" he exclaimed.  "I know perfectly well that you'd kill me if I did that.  It was bad enough my being in your room without permission."

"Well," she breathed a sigh of relief, "at least you realize it was a bad idea..."

"No." he said firmly, "You would have been mad at me if you found me there, but I don't regret what I did, or apologize for it.  I was able to make the nightmares go away, and if that helped you at all, then I'm glad I did it."  They were coming close to the school, and he could see Akako up ahead, so he turned to Aoko.  "Look, I'm sure you have more to say about this, but let's continue this conversation later in private." he suggested.

"Fine.  But we _will_ be continuing it today, you're not putting this off any longer." she told him sternly.

"I guess Kaachan was right, it is time I explained things." he muttered.

Koizumi Akako had been seeing some very strange things in her divinations lately, and they were confusing her.  It seemed almost as though Kuroba-kun was in very great danger and yet surrounded by a strong protective force at the same time.  It wasn't his luck though, that she would have recognized easily enough, it was some external protection whose source she couldn't pinpoint.  Divination was, after all, not an exact science, as was true for so much of the Art.  She was determined to figure this out.  She didn't particularly like things which obscured her vision.  Knowledge and Power and such.  And speak of the devil, there was Kuroba-kun himself, with the ever-attendant Nakamori-chan.  Akako was about to call out to them when she noticed something very strange about Nakamori-chan's aura.  It looked like it was just about to explode with power.  She wasn't sure what kind of power, but whatever it was, it looked to be barely leashed in.  Perhaps this _wasn't_ the best day to confront Kuroba-kun, better by far to observe and learn.  

She didn't learn much that day, but what she did learn was very informative.  It seemed there was trouble of some sort between the two of them, definitely tension anyway, and Kuroba-kun was more keyed up than normal, even for a heist day.  Even stranger, Nakamori-chan was obviously restraining herself from going after him, even with provocation.  Whether that had to do with the leashed-in power or she was simply trying a new tactic, though, was in question.  The one thing no longer in question, though, was where that protective force she had foreseen had come from.  It was closely related to Nakamori-chan's aura.

All through the day Aoko tried to get Kaito alone, but it just couldn't be done.  It wasn't even like he was trying to avoid her, but things just kept getting in the way of them having proper privacy to talk.  It wasn't until they got almost to his house (his mother had a standing invitation for her to eat dinner at their house on heist nights) that Aoko was able to pick up where she left off.

"I still can't believe you would sneak into my room when I was sleeping." Aoko said, "Even if I _was_ having nightmares."

"I wouldn't have," he admitted, "except that you kept calling for me.  I don't care how many times you try to hit me with a mop for being there, I'm your friend and I'm not just going to leave you to suffer."

Aoko wasn't quite sure how to respond to his vehement tone.  This was a side to her old friend that she rarely saw, and it brought up feelings in her that she wasn't sure how she wanted to deal with yet.

"I know you're serious, it's just I don't often see you being serious, you know?"

Kaito laughed.  "I guess that's true.  Should I flip your skirt, then, just so you don't think I've been abducted by aliens or something?"

"No, that's quite alright." she rolled her eyes.

"Aoko, why didn't you tell me you were having nightmares?"

"I... I guess I just thought it was not really important.  I mean, why should I make a big deal out of a few disturbing dreams." she shrugged.

"I guess so." he agreed.

"Actually, Kaito, there was one other thing I was going to ask you.  Were you talking to my dad last night?  I could have sworn I heard your voice."

"Right.  About last night.  That's, well, it's kinda gonna take some explaining.  A lot of explaining, actually.  It might take more time than I have tonight."

"Right.  Of course.  There's a Kaitou Kid heist tonight, isn't there; you can't miss that." she said, with a hint of irony in her voice.  "Why is it that you always insist you have to go, but I never see you in the crowd?"

"Well, I'm a magician, aren't I.  You don't think you'd actually see _me_ do you?"  They were both skirting around the real issue, and they both knew it, but they were almost at Kaito's house, and neither of them wanted to have this particular conversation over the dinner table.

"Well, why don't you get started on the explanation now, and you can continue it later when we have more time."

"Okay." Kaito took a deep breath.  "Why don't we start off this way:  Do you remember that lesson Hirata-sensei gave last month about the importance of the shinobi in later-Tokugawa-era government?  About how they were hired to shame political opponents by stealing stuff from them in as showy and flamboyant a manner as possible, then casually giving it back to them?"

Aoko nodded.

"Did it strike you at the time as being somewhat familiar at all?"

"I didn't really think about it much," she admitted, "just took notes.  I was too distracted by my own thoughts.  I remember noticing you seemed to be paying more attention to the lesson than usual, though."  She thought back over the lesson.  "I see what you mean, though.  It sounds an _awful_ lot like the methods Kaitou Kid uses."

"Ao-chan, you're a genius, you know that?  Personally, I was surprised Hakuba didn't figure it out, but unless he's holding back the information to try to trap the Kid later, he's made no indication he made that connection."

Aoko made no comment about the diminutive, although she couldn't stop herself from blushing slightly.

"Anyway, back to those shinobi.  Like most professions in the old days, the skills were passed from father to children, and their secrets were fiercely guarded.  They lived double lives, entertainers or swordsmiths or cooks by day, mysterious shinobi by night, and only family members, retainers, and the odd very close friend ever knew about their night jobs.  These traditions carried on down the years, being modified and added to as society changed, and most of the old families died out, either having developed too many enemies, or because of sons or daughters who wouldn't continue their forefathers' traditions, but there were a few who kept up the old ways, and one of those families..."

"Is named Kuroba." Aoko finished for him.

"Yes," he confirmed, "it is."  He took a deep breath, caught both of her hands in his and looked deep into her eyes.  "I decided after talking with Kaachan last night it's time I told you the whole truth, and I just hope you'll keep an open mind long enough for me to do what I have to do.  Can I trust you to trust me?"

Aoko caught her breath at the depth of knowledge and pain in his eyes.  It reminded her of the way he had looked nine years ago, the day he had found out his father had died.  Something in those eyes evoked her protective instincts, and she nodded.

"I'll listen.  I can't promise I won't get mad at you, but I promise I will trust you."

"Thank you."  He squeezed her hands, then let go.  "C'mon, let's get going, or Kaachan's going to wonder what we're doing standing around out here. 

And poor little Kai-chan has some 'splainin' to do, ne?  Hope everyone likes my handling of how she finds out and such…kinda wished I'd had a Beta for this part, since the only people I could get to proof it for me didn't' know anything at all about the MK-verse…basically I was saying "okay, given what I've told you about these people, does this make some sense to you?"  I'd love a little feedback, ne?

Hopefully Chapter 5, and the heist, will be out post haste!


	6. 5 Lost in a Riddle that Saturday Night

Ooooooooo……. The heist chapter is finally here!  And it's another big one too.  I really worked hard on this…and of course, dear little Kaito absolutely INSISTED on the music.  Not that I mind, actually, it worked out pretty well.  Just so you know, it's actually designed so that if you start the song when Kaitou Kid does, if you're a reasonably quick reader the song should last just about as long as it does in the heist.  (it's based on my reading speed, so no guarantees).  I got the lyrics and translation from Animelyrics. com, so a big THANK YOU to whoever it was that sent them in there and did all that work so I didn't have to.

Moonlight Shadow

Chapter 05:

Lost in a Riddle that Saturday Night

Dinner was a somewhat strained affair.  Aoko spent the time thinking up questions to ask Kaito, and Kaito spent the time making mental preparations for the heist coming up in a few hours.  Meimi tried her best to keep the conversation light and upbeat to give them both a break from the obviously difficult time they were going through.  She didn't feel responsible for their hardship, and she knew they could handle it, but she was a mother, she couldn't _help_ but be concerned for them and want to do what she could to make things better.

When dinner was over, she insisted they both do their homework, even though it was Saturday and they didn't have school the next day.  They both agreed, since they knew after tonight and the discussion they would have to continue, not to mention the heist, they probably wouldn't have much time or inclination for schoolwork tomorrow.

By eight o'clock, Nakamori-keibu was deeply embroiled in the semantics of how Takage-san's security guards were to be fit into his own taskforce for tonight's excitement.  He had given all his officers a talk before they came down here to the warehouse about keeping a close watch on those "guards" near them.  Nakamori Ginzo was not an overly trusting person when it came to people like Takage-san, and after his comments yesterday, Nakamori was fairly convinced he would try to kill the Kid.  The way he had talked about "getting the Kid" had sounded rather nastily fatal.  That went against both his own conscience _and_ the "rules of engagement" he had established for dealing with Kaitou Kid's heists.  Every officer was to try his hardest to capture him, but none were to deliberately seriously injure him in order to capture him.  Accidents might happen, of course, but Nakamori wanted no cries of "police brutality" when the Kid was finally brought to trial.  Besides, Kaitou Kid was, he was sure, perfectly capable of doing a lot more damage than he did, and some of those little toys of his could conceivably be much more dangerous than the ways he chose to use them.  He obviously _wasn't_ trying to deliberately injure any of the forces sent out to catch him, and so they afforded him that same courtesy.  

Nakamori ended up deciding to station at least three of his officers around each security guard and hoping that was enough.  He glanced at his watch.  Eight thirty.  Still another hour and a half 'til moonrise at ten, and he was pretty sure Kid wouldn't arrive until tonight's full moon had cleared the tallest building and would then be shining its full light down on this particular warehouse.  And that reminded him that he had one more important thing to do tonight before the heist.  He had a phone call to make.

Kaito and Aoko had just finished their homework when the phone rang.  

"Kaito, it's for you!" Meimi called up to him.

"Coming!" he sang out cheerfully as he bounced down the stairs, the anticipation of the heist singing in his veins already.  She held out the phone to him and he skidded to a stop right in front of it and took it from her.  "Moshi moshi." he said politely.

"Kaito-kun, Nakamori here.  Just wanted to ask you to make sure Aoko gets to tonight's heist safely.  Normally I would ask you to persuade her to stay home, but I have a hunch that it might be critically important that she be here tonight.  She was so bright last night when she was dreaming that I could see the light clearly under the door, and given what she's told me about her dreams, tonight's heist may be the catalyst which frees her full power."

"I'll make sure she gets there safely." Kaito assured him, mentally thanking his lucky stars that she knew now.  Hiding the truth from her when he was supposed to watch over her during a heist-watch would have been... difficult.  "Besides, it's not like either of us could keep her from going if she really wanted to, better to keep her safe while she's there and near-at-hand than tell her to stay home and then have her stubbornly come anyway."

"Good, we understand each other then." Nakamori agreed.  "I'll see you later, then."

"See you later."  Kaito looked at his watch and swore.  Less than an hour left before he had to get ready for tonight.  It wasn't a lot of time, but he owed Aoko as much of an explanation as he could give her in that time.

"Who was that?" Aoko asked from the top of the stairs.

"Just your dad checking up on things." Kaito shrugged.  "C'mon.  Now that we're done our homework we only have under an hour 'til I have to get ready, and we have a lot to talk about, don't we?"

"We sure do." she glared at him.

"So, where were we?" He asked once they were settled back in his room. "Shinobi.  Right.  So one of those shinobi families was the Kuroba family, and they...we were also traditionally entertainers, most lately magicians.  Now you have to understand, a lot of my information is secondhand, I wasn't taught the way my father and his father and so forth were taught, since Touchan had only taught me some magic and the most rudimentary skills like lockpicking when he died, and he hadn't told me anything about my heritage.  He was waiting until I turned twelve before he would say anything about that, as was traditional, and since he was an only child there was nobody else to take over my training properly.  This is what I do know though.  When Touchan was twelve, Ojiisan started his training in the ancient ways of our family.  It quickly became apparent that  he was something of a genius. By the time he was seventeen, he was already taking jobs, had designed his own outfit, in white, of all things, since "only the bad guys wear black", and had even made improvements on the tools he used on a day-to-day basis and was designing new tools.  He quickly became sought-after, and was able to pick and choose his jobs, but somewhere along the line he picked the wrong job.  All these people wanted him to do was find one particular gem.  The trouble was they didn't know what it looked like, or even what type of stone it was.  They were, however, willing to pay him even if the stone he took wasn't the one they were looking for, just so long as he kept looking, and they didn't care what he did with the ones he took that weren't the one they wanted."

"But Kaito, if they didn't know what it looked like, how would he know whether he'd found the right gem?"

"Because this gem they're looking for is actually one stone inside another, and under the moonlight, it should glow red.  It's called the Pandora Gem, and it's supposed to have great healing powers, even cry tears of immortality.  Whether you believe that stuff or not, they must have, because they really wanted it.  Touchan started to wonder about his employers, though, so he did a little research, and what he found out seriously disturbed him.  To the point, in fact, that he told them they could take the job and shove it."

"Ah yes, Toichi-jichan always did insist on honesty and integrity, I remember that about him.  But if these guys were so shady, wouldn't it be dangerous for him to snub them like that?"

"You're right, it was.  It was even more dangerous than that, though.  He decided that whether or not such a stone with those amazing powers existed, he didn't want to take the chance of something like that, if it worked as advertised, being in the hands of such unscrupulous people so he continued to look for it on his own, determined to keep it away from those who would use it for ill ends."

"That definitely sounds like what I remember of him, alright.  But why didn't he just go to the police?  He was good friends with Tousan..."  she paused and stared wide-eyed at Kaito.  "You know, I hadn't thought of that.  He was _good friends_ with Tousan, and I know Tousan respected and admired him as well as being his friend, but if he was... was..."

"Was Kaitou Kid?  He was.  He was also just a regular guy.  I'm sure he knew your dad wouldn't understand, so he didn't bring his problems to him.  At least not directly.  But if your dad happened to run into some information about other, worse criminals while chasing the Kid, it was all good, and if that information helped them be caught, even better.  That's still how it works, you know.  And it's not like your dad is dumb for not realizing, he's just... single-minded."

Aoko laughed.  "He is, you know." she admitted.  "All he ever thinks about is catching Kaitou Kid.  But if Toichi-jichan was Kaitou Kid, then the thief he was chasing is dead."

"He is...but Kaitou Kid is alive and well.  Aoko, you remember when Touchan died.  Nobody said anything about it, but he didn't die in a stage accident.  He was killed."

"Those guys who wanted that Pandora Gem thing?"

"Yup.  They killed him, and it was covered up, and he just went away on tour one time and never came home.  I always said he was too good to loose his life to a simple accident, but then, it's not unknown for even the best magician to get in over his head, so I accepted it, reluctantly, but I eventually learned the truth.  And when I did...  Well, I just had to do _something_.  Can you understand, Ao-chan?  I couldn't just sit there and ignore what had happened, I had to act."

"But why didn't _you_ go to the police?" Aoko protested.  "I can understand Toichi-jichan's reasons, but you'd better have a _very_ good reason for your little indiscretion."

"Why didn't I go to the police?  I guess logically I probably should have, before it would have endangered me, but somehow I... Well, I found out right before that clock tower heist, you remember that one?  Yeah, I wasn't Kid before then, and I wanted to see who this other Kaitou Kid was, I had this wild idea Touchan might just have been hiding out all those years and had finally decided it was safe to come back.  It was strange how well everything fit, how easy it all was.  It just felt _right_.  Like I was _supposed_ to be doing just what I was doing."

"Why didn't you tell me, Kaito?"  There, the question was out in the open.  She felt better for finally having asked it, too.

"To be perfectly honest, Aoko, I didn't tell anyone.  I only told my mom yesterday, and that was because she confronted me with the fact that she already knew.  I didn't want to get anyone else in trouble."  He looked at his watch and grinned.  "Well, on that note, it's time for me to get ready.  Heists wait for no man, or some such.  Besides, your dad wanted me to bring you to the heist."

Now it was Aoko's turn to grin - quite ferally.  "So I can wave my 'Kid go home' banner, right?  And cheer on my dad while he's chasing _you_.  Sounds like fun.  I'll reserve my final judgment in this case until after the evening's excitement is over, because I can tell there's still a part of the story you haven't told me, but I expect _full disclosure_ when we get back."

"Ninmu ryokai!" he saluted.  "Just wait here, I'll be back in a few minutes."

After Kaito left, Aoko sat on the bed, pondering to herself.  She was actually surprised with how well she was taking this.  Strangely, it was the dreams which were helping her stay calm.  So much of what Kaito was saying seemed to come almost directly from the 'explanation dreams' that it seemed like they were almost prophetic.  And that was, by far, the most disturbing thing she'd thought all day, even with the distressing truth she had found out.  She just wished Kaito could have _trusted_ her _earlier_, that was all.  A couple of tears trickled down her cheeks, but she angrily brushed them away.  Her emotions could be put to _much_ better use getting mad at Kaito later.  Because being understanding was all well and good, but in the end, getting mad was so much more her thing.

Kaito whistled something by BoA (he'd forgotten the name of it) as he packed everything into his usual backpack.  Aoko was taking all this so _well_!  Mind you, he was sure she would eventually wreck bloody revenge on him with her mop, but he might even have time to run quite a long way before she told her father about him.  Of course, there was still no chance she _wouldn't_ tell Nakamori-keibu, it was the only logical outcome, after all, but he could live with that.  He would just have to, and that was that.  Still whistling the same tune, he headed upstairs to collect Aoko.

When he got back, she was still sitting on the bed, so he bowed jauntily and offered her his arm.

"Shall we be off then?" he asked with a smile.

Aoko punched his shoulder, then laughed and took his arm.  "Let's go.  I can't wait to laugh at all those Kaitou Kid fans who don't have a clue who he really is.  The speculation is always quite fascinating."

"Whatever makes you happy." Kaito shrugged.

"Hitting you with a mop would make me happy." she laughed and _almost _leered.

"Well then, when this is all over, I promise I'll stand still for a whole minute and let you hit me as much as you like." he laughed back.

"I'll hold you to that." she warned.

When they got to the door, Meimi was waiting for them.  She gave them each a hug, then turned to whisper to Aoko.

"Remember: trust him, but keep in mind the silly overprotectiveness of boys in general, and boy magicians in particular." she advised her.

"You knew."

"And I got through it, I survived, and so will you."

Aoko gave her a hopeful smile.

By mutual unspoken agreement they didn't discuss any serious topics as they walked to the warehouse where the heist would occur.  Instead, as they walked through the streets and alleyways of Tokyo on an intricate route that Aoko would be hard pressed to describe, let alone repeat, they lightheartedly joked about their teachers and classmates, or police officers under her father's command whom they both knew.  When they drew close, they could hear the crowd milling about, and Aoko caught sight of some of her classmates.

"I guess this is where I leave you." Kaito said lightly.

"I guess so." Aoko sighed.

"I'll see you after.  Meet me here, okay?" he smiled reassuringly

"Okay.  And Kaito?  Be careful, ne?"

"I'll try." he laughed.  And with a jaunty wave he was gone.

Aoko took a deep breath, held it, then let it out slowly.  Centered and closer to her regular self, she stepped out into the crowd and called brightly to her classmates.

Just outside the warehouse, Inspector Nakamori Ginzo watched the full moon playing peek-a-boo with the tallest buildings of the Tokyo skyline.  It looked like there were only three left for it to rise above before it would be "in its glory" alone in the sky.  Things would be starting soon.  His air of nervous tension had infected those of his men standing closest to him, and they were watching the nearby security guards more closely than the watch they were keeping for Kaitou Kid.  In a way, that disturbed him, since it was a bad precedent to set, but it was also reassuring.  It seemed his concern about tonight had been more than adequately communicated.  He nervously drummed his fingers on his thigh and fervently wished he hadn't finally bowed to Aoko's demands that he stop smoking last month.  But once she came into her power she would have purged the nicotine from his system constantly anyway, and he much preferred to quit on his own power.  He'd even managed, during the last week, to wean himself off the nicotine gum he'd been chewing.  He glanced up at the moon again.

"Only a couple of minutes to go, look alive out there!" he ordered over the general broadcast channel.

After he left Aoko, Kaito had gone through a side access door into the warehouse across the street and from there into a long-forgotten service tunnel where he had changed and stashed his backpack.  He glanced at his watch and noted that he was right on time.  Striding quickly along the tunnel in near-darkness, his footsteps nigh-inaudible, he soon reached the door he wanted.  He had oiled the hinges over this past week so he had no fear they would hear him come in, and it opened into an unused sub-basement in any case.  He wasn't sure the present owner even knew the sub-basement was there, but there were a couple of routes up from it, one of which put him right next to the power grid, the main security shutoff _and_ the lockdown override.

"Takage-san, if I didn't know better, I'd say you _wanted_ me to rob you." he said softly as he cut the main wire to the security system, then activated the override, causing all the safe doors in the building to swing open at once.  Then he cut the power.

"He's activated the security override!" came someone's panicky, crackling voice over the radio.

Nakamori swore vociferously.  "We didn't see him go in, nobody has been allowed through the doors, he must have been hiding inside!  You men outside the building, make sure nobody leaves, men inside, block all exits!  Make sure he can't make it onto the roof!

Inside the warehouse, twenty or more flashlights flicked on at once, and their bright beams crossed and recrossed, causing a confusing strobe effect.  Kaitou Kid began to laugh as he rolled a few different-coloured smoke bombs across the floor to add to the confusion.  The scene resembled nothing so much as a disco rave, lacking only the music.  That simply wouldn't do!  Continuing his slightly mad chortle, Kid pulled out one of his most secret weapons - a powerful walkie-talkie tuned to the same frequency as those the Kid taskforce carried - and plugged his MP3 player into the mic slot.  He selected just the perfect song for this heist, cranked the volume, and hit play.  There!  Now the rave atmosphere was complete!

**Koi wa thrill, shock, suspense **

**Mienai chikara tayori ni...** (1)

Nakamori yelled incoherently as his radio erupted with the heavy dance beat of "Koi wa Thrill, Shock, Suspense".

**Kokoro no tobira tozasazu ni tsuyoku...tsuyoku...** (2)

"Change frequency!" he yelled, trying valiantly to make himself heard over the volume of the music.

Back in the "policeman's rave", Kaitou Kid was cackling gleefully as he danced nimbly toward his target.  The volume of the music dipped slightly as some of the officers changed radio frequencies, so he hit the "broadcast all channels" button on his radio and continued to dance, quickly reaching the particular vault he wanted.

**Watashi ga kanjiteita toge o kimi ni mo onaji you ni ataeteita no kamo shirenakatta**(3)

Ten or so of the various security types had placed themselves shoulder to shoulder across the entrance, since they weren't able to close the door with the power off, and he skidded to a stop about four feet in front of them and stood there for a moment, waiting to see if any would break formation.

**Nani ni kokoro o itamete nani ni obieteita no ka ki ni mo tomezu**

**Motsureteku futari no shinjitsu ni mukiau no ga kowakatta **(4)

Aoko had slowly made her way to the fringes of the crowd around the side of the building, and she was feeling distinctly odd.  It was almost like she was in a dream or a trance.  Some inner part of her mind was aware of what she was doing, but it didn't seem to have any control over her body.  

**This love is thrill, shock, suspense**

**Moyoi o aoi kaze ni chirasou toshite mo**

**Kakaekirezu ni itayo kono chisana mune ni wa**(5)

She found herself slipping into the shadows behind some crates, waiting for a police officer to walk past, then starting to climb up the fire escape.  The inner part of her mind was praying fervently that nobody saw her...and especially that nobody looked _up_, as she was still in her school fuku, and skirts were _not_ made for climbing!

**Kokoro no tobira tozasazu ni**

**Tsugi e to susumu arata na fuan to mayoi o kakaete shimaisou ni natte mo**(6)

The guards blocking the vault door resolutely stood their ground even through a few of Kid's crazier dance moves, and Kid could hear the syncopated offbeat thuds of others running toward him from behind, so he reached surreptitiously into one of the compartments in his jacket as part of one of his dance moves, and threw a flashbomb high into the air.  As it reached the top of its arc he slipped a pair of tanning glasses over his eyes, then smiled at the confused outcry from his opponents as it went off with an almost-inaudible pop and a magnesium-white flare.  

**Yawaraka sugiru ai ni dakare teita yo kitto**

**Nakushite ki ga tsuitayo chisana nukumori** (7)

When it had faded, he pocketed the glasses and dashed toward the crowd.  With a leap and a handspring off one man's shoulders he was inside the vault.  

**Ima ni natae ne kimi no omoi no fukasa ga miesou de **

**Machigatteinai mono a massugu na mono o**

**Itsumo miseteite kureta n da ne** (8)

The men roared with outrage, but because of the way they had squished themselves into the door, they were having a hard time turning around, and since most of them, and the other officers as well, had dropped their flashlights to cover their eyes, which still hadn't recovered from the bright flash in any case, there was plenty of time for Kaitou Kid to grab his objective and, in perfect synchronization to the beat of the song, vault back over the human "door", dive beneath the reaching arms of those officers who had come running, kick any flashlights in his path spinning, and make a break for the stairs to the roof.

**This love is thrill, shock, suspense**

**Futaritomo ni sugoshita jikan o mou muda na hibi datta nante **

**Kizu ni nanaka shinai yo** (9)

The special operative Hirano Takahiro had sent grinned to himself as he spun his semi-automatic rifle on his finger to the faint dance beat that drifted up the stairs.

"Better enjoy yourself while you can, 'cause I'm taking you _out_, Kaitou Kid." he laughed harshly.  He heard the faint clanking of footsteps coming up the fire escape and caught his gun in firing position, training it on the spot where the fire escape opened onto the roof, then relaxed again when he saw it was only a girl.  No doubt one of Kaitou Kid's fans, trying to get an up-close view of her hero.  No point wasting bullets on her yet and giving away his position, he would wait for the Kid to appear.

**Mitsukeda yo ano hi no kotae **

**Kimi to no kizamareta kiokutachi wa kokoro no dokoka de shizuka ni ikizuiteku yo** (10)

Aoko pulled herself onto the roof, then found herself walking to the front of the building and looking down at the crowd.  The crunching of the gravel underfoot, the crowd, the swinging spotlights, all were distinctly and distressingly familiar.  It was _exactly_ the way _that_ dream always started.  All she needed now was for Kaitou Kid to come along...

**_- looking for exit to escape- _**(11)

With gleeful abandon, International Phantom Thief 1412 danced away from his pursuers and up the stairs.  The music thing was a great idea... He really should remember it for some heist in the future, it was wonderfully distracting.  Not to mention fun, of course!  The lyrics were a bit...eerie...though, given his current situation with Aoko.  He hadn't even been thinking of that when he picked the song, just that it had a good beat.

He reached the door to the roof without pursuit, and slipped through, locking it behind him.  With a practiced eye he checked the roof for any police presence.  He grinned.  Not a uniform in sight.  Except...  What was _Aoko_ doing up here?  She was standing at the edge of the roof, just _standing there_, and he couldn't tell if it was just a trick of the light, but she almost seemed like she was _glowing_ slightly.  It was the first time he'd seen that when she was awake, and he wondered if it had anything to do with the Tenshi no Namida being so close by.

"Konbanwa, ojousan." he said in Kid's voice as he came up behind her.  Under his breath he muttered, "What are you _doing_ up here?"

**Kimi wa tokku ni mieteita n da ne **(12)

She turned to look at him and he was shocked by the vacantness in her gaze for a moment.  Then she blinked, and she was back to her usual self.

"Kai..."

He cut her off with a wink and a shushing gesture, and she could see her good friend Kaito peering out past the mask of Kaitou Kid, then he took her hand and bowed low over it, sweeping off his top hat in a courtly manner.  Her eyes widened in fear.  It was one thing for _her_ to play out parts of her dreams, that could be explained ...sortof... but for _Kaito_ to start playing out her dreams, when she had never related them in detail to him, was extremely unsettling.  Especially when it was _this_ dream.  She didn't _want_ this dream to be real!  She felt a cool weight in her hand as he straightened up, and he curled his fingers around her closed fist.

**Kowareyasukute mamoru mono nante nai to akirameteta dake datta to... **(13)

"This belongs..."

"To me.  I know.  I've had this dream often enough."

"This dream?"  His eyes widened.

"Yes, now don't just stand there, get moving, he's sure to start shooting soon."

"Shooting?" Kid echoed.

Aoko blanched.  "Baka.  Duck!" she screamed just as the sharp _crack _of a gunshot rang out across the roof.

**This love is thrill, shock, suspense**

**Kimi kara watashi kara subete kara mo nigete tadori tsuiteta no wa **(14)

A particularly vicious expletive dripped like acid off the lips of Hirano's favourite operative.  That girl must have noticed his laser sight on the Kid's back.  He sent a volley of shots after the Kid as he pushed the girl ahead of him toward shelter.

As he ran, Kid...Kaito tracked the trajectory of the bullets back to their source and saw a black hat and a gun peeking over the top of one of the electrical boxes.  He swore internally and pulled out his card gun.  He knew he wasn't likely to get a decent shot from this angle, but you did what you could.  There was good cover behind that fan over there, if they could just make it across the open roof.

Two steps from shelter, with Aoko already safe, he felt a hot pain in his leg cut through the adrenaline in his blood like ice poured into his veins.  He gritted his teeth and dove for cover, letting out a hiss of pain and then forcing himself to ignore it.  They weren't safe yet.

**Dokodemo nai tokoro datta mou nigemichi wa iranai yo**(15)

Aoko clenched her fists and swallowed quite a few of her father's favourite expressions.  Kaito was shot.  Just like in the dream.  And he was going to _ignore_ it again, she was sure of it.  Slipping the jewel down her top for safekeeping (and why did she feel it _had _to be over her heart?) she forced Kaito to look at her.

"Bind it.  Now." she hissed curtly, "Or I will."

He nodded, and handed her one of his handkerchiefs.  "You do it." he grimaced.  "If I think about it I'll feel it more, and if I feel it more..."  He moved so she could reach the wound, high in his left thigh.

Aoko winced in sympathy, tried desperately to ignore the fact that this was _Kaito_ whose blood was welling up so crimson beneath her fingers, and tied the handkerchief as tightly as she could with shaking hands.

**Tatoe namida o nagashita toshite mo watashi mo nanimo kowarenai to shitta kara **(16)

Kaito couldn't quite suppress the whimper of pain as his wound was bound.  Truly, he wanted to howl, but he didn't have the luxury.  They weren't out of this yet, he could collapse later.

He peeked around the fan and swore as another bullet nearly missed his head.  He'd seen what he needed to see, though.  They had a short and clear run to the utility shed he'd examined earlier in the week as a possible hiding spot, had the police been too close behind him.  It had doors on opposite ends, which might give him more time to disarm his opponent, and it looked to offer a much better angle.  He wanted nothing more than to get himself and Aoko out of there, but the only way off the roof at this point was the glider, and that would leave him a great big glowing white target.  And speaking of targets, right now was a perfect opportunity to drop the fake.  He let it slip out of his hand as he reached over to grasp Aoko's shoulder.

"Aoko, c'mon, that way." he hissed as he directed her gaze toward the shed, "I might be able to get a shot off at him from there."

Aoko looked wary, but she could tell just as well as he could that they had to move from this spot, it was still far too exposed.

He counted down from three on one hand, and they burst into motion.  Kaito winced with every footfall, but he forced himself to ignore it, and when a bullet whizzed past his ear it gave him a fresh burst of adrenaline to keep moving.  He managed to keep his opponent pinned with covering fire from his card gun, and then they had reached the shed.  He never noticed that the MP3 player had come loose from the radio as he ran and was working itself unplugged.  Aoko ducked around the side of the shed, and he followed her, but when he opened the door, she stubbornly refused to go in.

Over the blaring music, one of Nakamori's officers had been able to report that Kaitou Kid had reached the roof, and Nakamori had been training spotlights there and making disparaging and anatomically unlikely comments about where Kaitou Kid might store that hangglider of his when he saw what looked like...  He whipped out his binoculars and swore darkly.  What the hell was Aoko doing up there?!  He caught sight of Kid, who seemed to be talking to Aoko, and then he heard a shot ring out and both of them disappeared.  He heard more shots, from two different firearms, and then with a crackle the music cut out right at the end of the song, and he could hear voices.

_"I will not go in there alone!"_

That was Aoko, and she didn't sound at all pleased.

_"Yes you will.  I have to disarm this guy, and I need to know you're safe before I leave you on your own."_

That must be the Kid, although his voice definitely wasn't calm and controlled the way it usually was.  But then, Nakamori supposed, these were somewhat extraordinary circumstances, certainly not the way your average Kaitou Kid heist usually ended.

_"Baka!  I'm not the one injured here!"_

_"Aoko, I swore I'd protect you, and I intend to keep to that vow, now **Get. In. The. Shed.** I'll be fine!"_

Had Aoko said the Kid was injured?  Nakamori depressed the outgoing button on his radio.

"Kaitou Kid, stay where you are, we want to get the shooter.  All officers inside the building head for the roof."

If Kaitou Kid was surprised to hear his radio crackle to life none of that showed in his voice when he answered.

_"That won't do much good I'm afraid Inspector,"_ he said politely,_ "I locked the door to the roof.  Wish I hadn't now, but that's how it goes sometimes.  I can get his gun away from him, but you'll have to climb up here or send a copter to pick him up."_

_"Tousan, it's like my nightmare!" _ Aoko added.

"I'm sure it is.  You go get under cover Aoko, for once the Kid and I agree." her father ordered her, too concerned with his daughter's safety to take in just how strange that sounded.

Aoko vehemently protested that order, as Nakamori had known she would.  Sometimes she truly was her father's daughter.

Kaito took advantage of Aoko's distraction to wrap both his arms around her, pinning her arms to her sides, and carry her, kicking and screaming, into the shed.

"Now _stay there_." he told her, "You can hit me all you want later."

"Kaito!  _Kaito!  BAKA!  _Let me _out!_" he could hear her screaming as she pummeled the shed door.

At least all the noise she was making was a good, distracting cover for his movements as he slid around the far side of the shed.  Ahh, the perfect angle, just as he had hoped.  Feeling strangely like he was in one of those shoot-em-up thrillers, he waited for the man in black to raise his gun again.  He was aiming for the shed, and Kaito realized suddenly that the thin aluminum siding would do almost nothing to slow bullets.  He took careful aim and fired.

_"Now **stay there**."_ Nakamori heard over the radio, _"You can hit me all you want later."_

_"Kaitou BAKA!"_ He heard Aoko's faint voice in the background.

'Good,' he thought, 'he's got her safe.'  Something about the Kid's last comment stuck in his head, though, and began to niggle away at him.

Kaitou Kid grinned in relief as he saw his shot impact on the barrel of the Black syndicate operative's rifle, and his second shot hit the man's gloved hand.  He dropped the rifle, then picked it up with his other hand and aimed for Kid.

"Ambidextrous are you?  I don't think so." Kid growled and fired again, hitting his other hand. 

The man roared with outrage, but he couldn't pull the trigger with either hand now.

"He's ready and waiting for you now, Inspector." Kaitou Kid reported, "I'll get Aoko out of here in case he had any friends around.  Kaitou Kid _over and out_!" He said the last bit in English, with a smirk entirely born of his temporary sense of relief, and turned off the radio.

Aoko couldn't decide if she felt outraged or panicked about Kaito shoving her in the shed, but either way she wanted _out_!  She paused in her attempt to beat down the door when she heard a shot, followed by another.  She thought back to her dream.  There should be one more shot, and... there it was... then...

"Kaitou Kid, _over and out_!" she heard him say, then she heard him slump against the side of the shed.  She paled in the realization that, just because he hadn't been shot again in her dream didn't mean he hadn't been here...

"Kaito, are you okay?  Get me out of here!  Open the door!  Dammit, where _are _you?!"  She started pounding on the door again, trying not to let her rising terror show in her voice.  She nearly screamed when she felt a hand go around her waist and another press over her mouth.

"Shh, it's me." he whispered in her ear.

Her relief was so great that she slumped bonelessly against him for a second, and he released her mouth, but not her.  Instead, he slid the other arm down to wrap it around her shoulders.

"We've got to get out of here.  How do you feel about flying?" he asked.

"Flying?"

"I'm not about to unlock the door for our friend out there."

"Will the hangglider hold both of us?"

"It should.  You'll have to hold onto my back, though.  You think you can manage?"

Aoko took a deep breath.  "I'm going to have to, aren't I?  Alright then, let's fly.  And I promise I won't take you up on that offer to hit you until we're safe."

Kaito chuckled as he released her.  "Thanks." he said depreciatingly.

He was visibly limping by the time they got to the edge of the roof, and Aoko was starting to get worried.  She remembered her dream from the night before all too well.  Kaito stood right on the low barrier which ringed the very edge of the roof and turned to her.

"I'm going to extend the glider now, and as soon as it's deployed, you need to duck under it and through the crossbeams and hold onto my shoulders."

"Okay." she nodded.

"Here we go, then!" he pressed the glider's trigger button and with a _foomp_ it snapped into place.  He felt Aoko's arms go around his shoulders as she stepped up on the narrow ledge, and her body press against his, and he grinned despite their somewhat difficult situation.  He'd always _wanted_ to take her flying.  "Hold on tight, now!"  He leaned forward, then jumped clear of the building and into the warm updraft coming from the sun-warmed street, crossing his left ankle over his right to help keep both legs straight out behind him..

Aoko gulped audibly and pulled her knees up on either side of his hips to hold on better, and it sent something coursing through his veins which had nothing to do with the adrenaline or the pain he'd felt earlier.  Probably something to do with hormones, he thought to himself.  Yup, definitely hormones, he confirmed with a lopsided grin.  That would be good, it was something to focus on besides the pain in his leg as the adrenaline faded.  He wanted to get them at least ten or twelve blocks away, and if he could make it to the roof of the national library that would be perfect.  There was one of his best bolt-holes right across the street where he usually kept a change of clothes, and the wind was in the right direction for it.  He wasn't sure how the glider would handle the extra weight, though.

Once Aoko got over her initial fear at the drop below her, she found flying to be quite a heady sensation.  The wind tugged at her hair with insistent fingers and the city looked so different from above, all sparkling like rhinestones on velvet.  She had to admit to herself that it wouldn't have been nearly so magical if she hadn't been with Kaito.  He was so warm beneath her and it made her feel safe, like nothing could touch her...and it made her blush to think about how much she was touching _him_.  They hadn't been in such close physical contact since...  Well, since before they went into junior high at least.  She tried very hard not to dwell on the firm but smooth tone of his muscles beneath her hands and between her legs.  For a second she blushed _bright_ red and hid her face in the back of his neck as that last _not thinking about it_ thought registered.

The winds were ideal, and they made good time through the streets, but even good time is still time, and even the hormones of a teenage male could only keep Kaito's mind off the pain for so long.  They were only three-quarters of the way to the National Library when his vision blurred, then went double.  He swore blackly.

"Kaito, you okay?" Aoko asked querulously.

"Um...not really."  He paused.  "Nope, definitely not really." he groaned.

"Kaito?"  She tightened her arms around him.

"I think I can make it, but you're going to have to help me stay awake." he said through gritted teeth.

"Help you stay awake?  I can do that, I guess.  Where are we going anyway?" she asked, trying to keep the fear she was feeling out of her voice.

"We're going to the National Library.  It's got a good flat roof and a spot nearby where I keep a change of clothes." he explained.

"The National Library?" Aoko almost laughed, "Meimi-bachan told me a story about the National Library just yesterday, about her and Kaitou Kid...I guess that would have been Toichi-jichan."  She began to relate the story to Kaito, hoping it would catch his interest enough to keep him awake.

Kaito gripped the glider's handles tightly as he concentrated on the sound of Aoko's voice, and only half paying attention to what she was saying.  He couldn't loose it now, he wouldn't be the only one going down, and he'd be damned if he was going to let Aoko get hurt.

"Kaito, I can see the library, we're almost there!" she said encouragingly as they rounded the final corner.

"Good.  You've gotta drop to the roof before I can land or you'll be caught in the glider when it collapses, okay?  I'll fly over the roof, you drop, then I'll...well, I'll try to land anyway."  He whimpered internally at the thought of putting any weight on his left leg, but once they were down he could maybe do something more effective about the bleeding at least, and he could call Jii, who might be able to help, or know someone who could.

He tilted the glider up into an updraft to avoid the downdraft on the lee side of the library building, his legs quivering with the strain of the right having to hold the left out for so long, then swooped down as close to the roof as he could.

"Now." he told her tightly.

Aoko slid-and-rolled awkwardly off his back and landed on hands and knees on the rough gravel roof.  Forcing his muscles to relax, Kaito took a deep breath, clicked the button to collapse the glider, and fell the last couple of feet to the roof in the best approximation of a controlled tumble he could manage under the circumstances.

Aoko pulled herself to her feet, dusting off her hands on her skirt as she ran over to him.

"Kaito?" she called frantically as she tried to pull him out of the ball he had rolled himself into.

He just groaned and slowly uncurled himself.  She gasped in shock as she saw how white he was, and how red his pantleg was, even in the colour-leeching moonlight.

He groaned again as she rolled him onto his back, taking his hat off and turning his cloak into an impromptu pillow, and she swore.

"Kaito, why didn't you tell me how bad it was?!"

He just shook his head, his eyes clenched shut.

"Kaito,_ please_ talk to me..." she said, her voice getting shaky.

"M...man, this roof ... hurts." he managed to whisper.

She helped him to sit up slowly, leaned him against an electrical box nearby and knelt next to him to examine his leg.

"I need to put a better bandage on this, do you have any scarves?" she asked, trying desperately to stay calm.  She took a deep breath and she felt something.  She didn't know where it was coming from, but there was a warmth deep inside her that was calming her fears, telling her everything would turn out alright.

Wordlessly Kaito handed her a string of handkerchiefs, and just like in the dream she'd had the night before she made pads to cover the entrance and exit wounds out of two of them, then tied them down with a few more.

"Kaito, I'm worried.  Even with this better bandage, you've lost a lot of blood..."

"Shh... Daijoubu." he shakily assured her, placing one gloved finger across her lips.  "At least you're safe now, and I've got a plan, I just need to rest a minute."

"But..."  He could see the tears welling up in her eyes, and as he watched, two spilled over to trickle down her cheeks.  He hated seeing her cry, and something inside him (maybe the remnants of the adrenaline, maybe the hormones, or maybe it was just bloodloss) suggested a way to stop her tears.

"Aoko," he said softly, "no matter what else happens, I'm glad you know now.  So glad I don't have to hide and lie anymore.  And," he tipped her face up to make her meet his earnest gaze, "I'm so, so sorry." He leaned forward ever-so-slightly, closing his eyes, and kissed her gently.

After a moment of shock, her hands came up to tangle in his hair and she began to kiss him back.  He hadn't realized how chilled he was until her warmth was there.  Kissing Aoko was like... well, he didn't know quite _what _it was like but it was warm and sweet and his heart was racing and he wanted to do this _again_, should have done this _sooner_.  And his arms were around her, pulling her warmth and sweetness closer to him, deepening the kiss... Then all of a sudden there was a bright light he could see even with his eyes closed and her whole body went rigid.  He opened his eyes to see her shining like a beacon, brighter than the moon, in fact, although the light was silver like moonlight.  Her head was thrown back and her mouth was open in a soundless cry.  

He felt the light envelop him as well, and it was warm like her kiss had been.  Warm, and he thought he smelled something like sun-warmed jasmine mixed with sandalwood.  Could this be... her power blossoming?  His arms fell slack at his side as he suddenly felt very lightheaded.

"Aoko, I sure hope your father knows what he's talking about for once." he whispered, gazing in awe at his childhood friend as she hovered about half a foot above the roof.

@~'~,~           @~'~,~           @~'~,~           @~'~,~           @~'~,~           @~'~,~           @~'~,~           @~'~,~           @~'~,~           @~'~,~            @~'~,~           @~'~,~           @~'~,~           @~'~,~           @~'~,~           @~'~,~           @~'~,~           @~'~,~           @~'~,~

English translation for **Koi wa Thrill, Shock, Suspense**:

(1)       Love is a thrill, shock and suspense

            Relying on unseen forces…

(2)       Powerfully without locking up the heart's door… powerfully…

(3)       Maybe I was giving you pain similar to what I've felt

            Without thinking about what gave me pain, what I feared

(4)       I feared facing the complicated truth

(5)       This love is a thrill, shock and suspense

            Even if I try to scatter doubt in the blue winds

            I was unable to carry the burden in this small chest

(6) Without locking up the heart's door

Even if I must carry more anxiety and doubt as I continue on

(7)       Perhaps I was being carried by a soft love

            I noticed when I lost the small warmth

(8)       Now I begin to see the depth of your feelings

            The correct things, straight things

            You've shown those to me

(9)       This love is a thrill, shock and suspense

            The time that both of us overlooked was useless

            I won't make them into scars

(10)     I've finally found the answer

            Memories with you will continue to live quietly inside me

(11)     - Looking for exit to escape -

(12)     You've already seen it

(13)     Just giving up, there's nothing fragile to protect…

(14)     This love is a thrill, shock and suspense

            Running away from you and myself, where I got to was

(15)     Nowhere, I won't need ways to escape anymore

(16)     Because I found out no matter how many tears are shed, nothing will collapse

@~'~,~           @~'~,~           @~'~,~           @~'~,~           @~'~,~           @~'~,~           @~'~,~           @~'~,~           @~'~,~           @~'~,~            @~'~,~           @~'~,~           @~'~,~           @~'~,~           @~'~,~           @~'~,~           @~'~,~           @~'~,~           @~'~,~

And now for my customary little note at the end:  I'm glad all of you have been enjoying this little fic so much!  I must say I've been enjoying writing it!  I know it looks like things are winding down, but don't believe everything you hear ^_~  There's plenty more story to go!  After all, you never know who might hear what about who these days, ne?  Even so, the next chapter will probably take another week or so.  Besides, now it's time for the WAFFy stuff!  Yay WAFF!!

One WAFF-crazed kitsune, signing off!  Amaya-chan Over and Out!


	7. 6 The Trees that Whisper in the Evening

GOMEN KUDASAI! **bows extremely apologetically** Sorry it took me so long to get this chapter out, RL jumped up and tackled me, plus I had a little trouble figuring out who the players were going to be in this chapter, since it's a part of the descending action from the heist and all.  Actually, I have to say a big "thank you" to ranma15177301291 (wow, Ranma, that's a lot of numbers x_x ^_^) who said all my introspection was actually appreciated.  Since I can't seem to get out of the characters' heads, at least I know someone else enjoys my slogging around in there.  You pointed out, completely rightly, that we didn't know what was going on in Kaito's head after he got shot and all, so I have tried to correct that fault, hope you like it!

Oh, and since it comes up in here, Marishiten will be explained (as well as I can, my sources were not extensive, unfortunately) at the end of the chapter, and if any of you know more about her, don't hesitate to send me an email or point out any glaring errors in a review!

Now on with the story!

Moonlight Shadow

Chapter 06:

The Trees that Whisper in the Evening

Hirano's operative hissed in pain as he pulled the playing cards out of the backs of his hands with his teeth.  Kaitou Kid had disappeared off on his hangglider, the door to the stairs was locked, he couldn't go down the fire escape since the whole perimeter of the building was _teeming_ with cops, and he could hear the distant chuffing of helicopters becoming a louder whirr.  Only one option left.  He lifted up the grating on one of the air-conditioning units and rolled inside, pulling the grate back into place from the inside.

Nakamori Ginzo had watched Kaitou Kid fly off with a mingled sense of trepidation and glee.  He was slightly appalled at the thought of trusting his daughter into the hands of a thief, but at the same time, he knew the Kid well enough through all their encounters to know that he didn't let _anyone_ get hurt.  And besides, Minami trusted him, and Nakamori, strangely enough, trusted Minami.  And he had other things to worry about, like catching that fiend who'd been shooting at his daughter as well as the Kid.

As the helicopters closed in, Nakamori ordered those of his men who were outside to begin scaling the fire escape, except for a few watching the exits, and the security forces, to whom he had insisted this was nothing they could help with, a matter for the police.  The police inside he ordered to make sure the door from the roof remained locked and that noone came in through it.

As each officer reached the roof, he moved around the edge, moving quickly but carefully, until as a group they had ringed the entire structure.  The last officer onto the roof reported down that everything was in place.

"Alright.  Good.  Now, how soon can we expect those helicopters?"

"They're another two minutes out still."

"You men up on the roof hear that?  You've got two minutes to catch this guy.  The Kid implied he'd made it so he couldn't get away, but he didn't say he'd rendered this guy harmless, so use all possible care in approaching him."

"Understood, sir."

The men on the roof began tightening their circle, scanning for any sign of their prey.  They found his gun, and the bloodstained cards Kaitou Kid had shot him with, as well as the gem Kid had dropped, but there was no sign of the man himself.  They began to look for any possible hiding places.

Once inside the air-conditioning unit, the operative worked his way through the intake (whose fan wasn't spinning, since _somebody_ had oh-so-helpfully turned off the power) and into the building's ductwork.  He had been very helpfully provided with the warehouse's blueprints by Takage-san the night before, and he pulled them out now.  Using a small penlight clenched in his teeth he memorized the turns and drops he would need to make, then put the blueprint away.  Continuing to hold the flashlight in his mouth he crawled slowly and deliberately along in the duct.  The last thing he wanted was for the police to hear him.  After all, he knew the rules about getting caught, and he had no desire to use his cyanide pill today.  He would if he had to, of course, but he had information which could prove useful, and might redeem him from tonight's debacle.  Kaitou Kid had seemed _awfully_ familiar with that girl, and he was willing to bet she could be a useful tool to help control him.  Not that, as an operative, he was allowed to imply taking initiative or making suggestions to his superiors, but he was sure they would see things the same way as he with no prompting on his part.

Koizumi Akako had had a bad feeling about tonight's heist.  Of course, she wouldn't call it a _bad feeling_, that was far too mundane; she would have called it a premonition, or an omen, or even intuition, but at the root of it that was what it was; a bad feeling.  She had gone to the heist as usual, but she had stayed on the outskirts of the crowd, and she'd kept her broom close at hand.  She was glad for her foresight.  To her well-trained third eye, there was a sickly darkness on the roof of the building.  She tried muttering a spell to nullify or damage it, but she couldn't get it past Nakamori-chan's blazing aura.  If anything, her aura was brighter and closer to bursting tonight than it had been at school.  Akako estimated it couldn't last the night in its barely-contained state, and she wondered not-so-idly what would happen when it did burst open.  

She didn't have to wait all that long to find out.  She watched Nakamori-chan climb to the roof, she saw Kaitou Kid come out onto the roof as well, and she saw the gem he carried which was pulsing its aura in sync with Nakamori's.  When she heard the first shot, she wasn't the only one to scream.  She was reassured, though, that both of her classmates were still alive.  The gem's aura flared and melded with Nakamori-chan's, but Akako realized with a start that the Kid had been injured.  She watched in mixed horror and fascination as tendrils of Nakamori-chan's aura began to seep out of their containment.  They seemed to be helping Kid to focus and ignore what looked to be a pretty serious wound, shoring up his aura and binding his consciousness.  

Not two minutes later Akako watched as the two of them took off on the Kid's hangglider.  She trailed them half a block back on her broom.  For one thing, she was worried for Kaitou Kid's injury, but she also found herself strangely concerned for Nakamori-chan.  Although why she should care what happened to her rival... But she did care, and it confused her a bit.  As she flew she pondered, and by the time they had reached the National Library she had come to a conclusion:  she was worried for Nakamori-chan because she had something in her which was so open and welcoming, despite her sometimes shrewish exterior, and Akako, worshipped though she was by students male and female alike, found herself very alone.  Somehow when Nakamori-chan was around she didn't feel quite so alone, and she didn't want to loose that.

Hidden in the shadow of a building across the street, floating at the level of the library roof, Akako watched as the pair landed on the roof.  She watched as they kissed, and it made her heart hurt _so much_...  She almost closed her eyes to shut out the sight of them, but a second later she was glad she hadn't.  Nakamori-chan's aura literally _exploded_ with power, power so strong it was even visible to the magically-unaided eye, and the overflow of energy actually levitated her almost a foot into the air.  The power then expanded to encompass Kid as well, filling in the gaps in his aura and healing and restoring his body as well.  Akako nearly fell off her broom in shock when she at last was able to see and understand what the energy was:  Nakamori Aoko appeared to be acting as a conduit for the shinriki of Marishiten, Warrior-Goddess and the Queen of Heaven.  Aoko was a miko!?  How could she have _missed_ something like that?  The more she thought about it, though, the more sense it made.  After all, Nakamori-chan _was_ well-suited to be the miko of a warrior-goddess, with that temper of hers, and she had always seemed _bright_ to Akako's scrying, but she had never really analyzed the reason for it, simply accepted it.

Kaito shivered as the light flowed over him.  It felt good.  Strange, but good, almost like being wrapped in layer after layer of warm, plush towels.  All the pain in his leg was gone, and he could even feel the fatigue which had built up over the past couple of days of worry being pushed away.  When the light finally faded it left him feeling as if he'd spent a relaxing week at home and had just woken up from twelve straight hours of sleep.  All of a sudden the light winked out altogether, and Aoko dropped from where she had been floating right into Kaito's arms as he moved lighting-quick to catch her.  She was horribly pale, but she smiled at him.

"See!  I knew there was something more I could do to help." she whispered with a smile as she reached out with a shaky hand to run her fingers through his hair, "Feel better?"

"Much!" he said with a grin.  He hugged her close.  "That was _amazing_, Ao-chan!"

"Mmm..." she mumbled and nuzzled her face into his neck, falling almost instantly into a deep sleep.

"She'll probably sleep like that for at least a couple of hours." a familiar female voice said nearby.

"Ah, Witch-san." Kid nodded politely.  "I appreciate the reassurance, but I wasn't worried.  Her father warned me this might happen."

"You were expecting this?"

"I was.  Now, if you'll excuse me..." He disappeared in a cloud of smoke and feathers.

On the other side of the roof access door Kaito sighed.  Akako was a nice enough girl in some ways, he supposed, but she put his metaphorical (or should that be metaphysical?) hackles up - always had, from the first moment he had stepped into the classroom and encountered her stare - and it made him eager to avoid close interaction with her for any length of time.  It was a shame, really, she made such an effort to be helpful in her own weird way, and he probably saw more of her true self than any of their classmates who idolized her, but she wanted more from him than he could give; he had his own concerns.  He unconsciously stroked Aoko's back as he headed for the Important Documents Reference Room, casually ignoring the sign that said "employees only".  The lock was simple to pick, (and it was often left unlocked entirely) and there was a back staircase in there that lead right down into the basement, from which he could get across the street unseen and into his bolt hole.  And then he'd call Jii.  If Aoko was going to be asleep like this for two hours or more there was no way he could carry her home on his own, and he didn't want to have to deal with the questions a taxi driver or bus driver would ask about a teenage boy with an unconscious teenage girl.  

Juggling a sleeping Aoko while opening doors and negotiating narrow passageways proved to be a bit of a challenging trick, but he found his skills more than adequate to the task and managed not to bump any of her extremities or make any undue noise on his way.  He inwardly marveled at how light she was.  He might tease her from time to time about her figure, but in reality he had always thought she was beautiful.  Even now, with her "inner flames" banked down and all-but-hidden in unconsciousness, she was breathtaking.  In fact, by the time he made it to his bolt-hole he was breathing harder and it had nothing to do with exertion.

This particular hideout was, or had been, a storage room for workers who maintained the storm drains in this area when they had first been put in, and it had a couple of major assets, one of which being a telephone spliced into the main line for the office building directly overhead.  His first order of business, therefore, was to call Jii.  He laid Aoko down on the small cot he had found in here which had to date from when his father was the Kid and dialed the familiar number of his mentor on the phone which sat next to the low couch.  He smiled faintly as he looked around him while he waited for Jii to pick up.  This had to be one of his most homey hideouts, what with the cot, the couch, and the rag rugs on the floor.  It had always been like this as long as he had known about it, and he wondered now if it was his mother's influence.

"Moshi moshi." Jii picked up on the third ring.

"Hi Jii, it's me." Kaito said.

"Ah, how are you, young master?  I trust tonight went according to plan?"

"Not entirely.  I'm fine, but I kinda need your help.  I have Aoko here with me, she's fast asleep and likely to stay that way for at least a couple of hours, and I need to get her home."

"What happened?  Did she get into a cloud of your sleeping gas?"

"No, nothing like that.  It's kindof a long story.  A lot has happened while you were away these last few days."

"You can tell me when I get there then.  Where are you now?"

"I'm by the National Library.  You know the place."

"I do.  Alright then, I'll see you there in about half an hour." Jii told him.

"Great!  Thanks Jii, I'll see you then."  Kaito hung up with a great sense of relief.  Just one more call to make, then he could get changed and be ready to go home.

Inspector Nakamori was swearing profusely at the criminal's ability to evade capture when his celphone rang.

"Nakamori." he answered curtly.

"Ah, Inspector, so glad I managed to catch you." came Kaitou Kid's smooth tones.

"Kid.  What's going on?  Where's my daughter?  I'm going to have _words_ with Kuroba, he was supposed to be looking after her."

"She's safe with me, and I already spoke to her friend... Kuro...ba...-kun?  He was most upset about what happened.  He told me her eyes had suddenly glazed over and she had looked all out-of-it, then given him the slip in the crowd.  He caught sight of her up on the roof and was heading up there when he saw us take off, so he followed us and caught up after we landed.  He told me we should take her back to his house." the Kid explained.

"And why couldn't she just go home with him?" Nakamori asked suspiciously.

"Because you were quite correct in guessing that her power would blossom tonight, and right now she's..."

"Fast asleep." Nakamori sighed.  "So you _were_ injured, then."

"Emphasis on the past tense there, I'm certainly not injured any longer.  In any case, Kuroba-kun and I will take your daughter to his house and let her sleep there."

"Is Kaito-kun there?  I'd like to talk to him for a minute."

"Certainly." Kid agreed.  He put his hand over the receiver.  Nakamori could hear a muffled conversation between two male voices, then the muffling was gone and Kaito was on the line.

"Nakamori-san, you wanted to talk to me?"

"Yes.  Kaito-kun, I want you to keep a very close eye on Aoko until you get home.  Kid may be helping us in this case, but he has just been healed, and that tends to make a person sleepy, so I want you to be careful and watchful, and call me again when you get there.  How long do you think that will be?"

"Kid-kun?" Kaito asked, "How long will it take to get back?"

"About forty-five minutes to an hour." came the Kid's voice, fainter than before, as though he was a couple of feet from the phone.

"Did you hear that?" Kaito asked Nakamori.

"Close to an hour, right.  I'll expect a call from you in an hour then." Nakamori confirmed.

"Will do, Nakamori-san." Kaito agreed, "Talk to you then." he said cheerfully.

"Before you hang up, I need to talk to the Kid again." Nakamori said quickly.

"Okay."  Kaito agreed.  He handed the phone over and Kaitou Kid's smooth voice took over again.

"I'm surprised at you, Inspector, I would have thought you'd be just as glad not to have to talk to me again." he said.

"I'd rather not, but for Aoko's safety I figured you should know that the criminal who shot at the two of you managed to get away, although not with his gun, so you'd better be on your guard." Nakamori said sternly.

"Thanks for the heads-up, Inspector, you truly are a prince among men.  I promise I'll be _really_ careful getting the little sleeping beauty to safety.  After all, didn't you say I was her white knight?" Kid's smile was actually audible over the phone line.  "You just take care of your own self, wouldn't want my favourite police inspector getting hurt!" Kid said with a smirk and hung up.

With a few choice words and a frown, Nakamori hung up as well.  So he _had_ been right about tonight.  He had to get in touch with Minami as soon as possible...that was _if_ the clairvoyant miko didn't contact _him_ first, which was just as likely to happen.  After all, she was _clairvoyant_ for kami's sake!

Well, in any case, he wasn't likely to get out of here anytime soon.  Two crimes had been committed here tonight, and they would have to go over the building with a fine-toothed comb for any possible evidence left behind.  Even though Kid's crime scenes were always pristine, there was still always that remote hope of a chance that he might have left some bit of incriminating evidence behind.  And as for the shooter... unfortunately he seemed like the type who would leave few traces as well, altogether a frustrating evening.

After Kaito hung up the phone, he had a hard time quelling his laughter.  It was always so much _fun_ pulling the wool over Nakamori's eyes, and talking to him as the two different versions of himself had been just so... well, almost bizarre.  He let himself laugh quietly for a minute, then he frowned as he thought about Nakamori's last piece of news.

"Dammit, I should've taken the time to tie the bastard up." he growled, "Or knocked him out with sleeping gas or something to make sure he stayed put."

He shrugged and reached into the small chest-of-drawers at the other end of the room for a change of clothes.  Thank goodness he was well-practiced at changing quickly.  With Aoko in the room, even if she was down for the count, he felt more than a little uncomfortable being in such a state of undress.  He grimaced as he pulled his pants off and looked at his leg.  It was no longer marred by a ragged bullet-hole, but however Aoko's healing worked, it didn't clean up blood.  The blood covering his left leg was half-dried and horribly sticky.  He could _really _do with a bath.  The pants were a define write-off; even if he could get the bloodstains out, there were two nasty big holes where the bullet had passed through.  He did his best to get what blood he could off his leg using a couple of bottles of water he had left there a few weeks ago, then gingerly slid his clean pants on.

Once he was back to his old self completely, he went over to sit cross-legged on the floor next to the cot where Aoko lay sleeping.

Akako sat dangling her feet from the edge of the National Library roof and doing some deep thinking.  She had always harboured a secret hope that when Aoko finally figured out who Kaitou Kid really was, she would be so angry with Kaito that she would want nothing more to do with him.  Instead, they seemed only to have become closer, if the kiss she had witnessed was any indication, and Akako had to reluctantly admit to herself that she would never be anything more than a friend to Kaito... That was _if_ he was willing to accept her friendship after everything she had done, and the way she had flung herself at him.  She refused to be embarrassed by her actions, she truthfully hadn't done anything _wrong_ per say, but she did regret them.

Akako sighed as she heard again the memory of her onetime-master's words.

_"It's your choice whether or not to obey the Rede, all things have freedom of choice after all, but remember Aka-chan, whatever you do, good or bad, the Threefold Law always applies, so you had better be willing to accept the consequences of your actions, especially if you impose your will on the will of others."_

"Dammit Cassidy-sensei, why did you have to be right?" she said sadly, "And why does 'harm none' have to have such a _broad_ interpretation?"

She hopped off the ledge and onto her broom with a thoughtful expression as she headed for home and bed.  Perhaps her dreams would provide the answer she was looking for.

Hirano's favourite operative breathed a surreptitious sigh of relief as he got into his car, which he had parked four blocks from the warehouse.  The police had been so concerned with looking for him on the roof, they hadn't even thought to watch the second floor outflow vent at the back of the building.  But then, why would they be watching it anyway?  He had shimmied down a convenient drainpipe before anyone caught sight of him and slipped into the shadows of the alley and he was virtually home free.

"At least the evening ended better than it started." he grumbled as the car's engine coughed to life.

Despite the rotten way his night was going, Nakamori-keibu had to smile when one of his officers handed him the moonstone they had found on the roof.  He was smiling because he knew Kid had completed his "mission" of course, but everyone simply assumed his smile was because the Kid hadn't managed to get away with his heist.  He calmly handed the gem to Takage-san, wearing his most professional face to hide his dislike of the man.

"Here you go.  The Kid may have gotten away, but at least he didn't manage to escape with his target this time."

"I am most grateful." Takage bowed and grinned as he took the gem, "Hirano-san will also extend his gratitude to you, I'm sure."

Right about then Nakamori's cel phone began beeping.

"Please excuse me." he said as he ducked into a squadcar to get some privacy.  "Hai, Nakamori desu."

"Ah, Ginzo-san, I'm so glad I caught you." said the sweet, slightly breathy female voice on the other end of the line.

"Minami-san!  I was going to call you, but I'm still at the site of Kid's latest heist."

"You know then that Aoko-chan's power has blossomed?  I would have called you right away when I felt it, but I couldn't remember where I had put your phone number." she said, sounding a little abashed.

"Yes, the Kid was shot, and she apparently healed him.  Oh, and about Kid: something struck me as a little strange.  From what you said ten years ago I always assumed that Kuroba Kaito was to be Aoko's protector, and yet Kaitou Kid has informed me that you told him it's _his_ job."

"Well actually, in a way, both of them are her protector." Minami explained, "When Kaitou Kid isn't around, Kuroba-san is there keeping an eye on her, almost like two halves of a whole protector."

"Two halves of a whole, ne?  Well, if you say so I guess they are."

"In any case, Ginzo-san, Aoko-chan will need to study with me for a while to gain control of her power.  It doesn't have to interrupt her regular studies, she could come for a few hours on Sundays if that would fit her schedule, but I would like her to bring Kuroba-san with her, if that's possible."

Nakamori laughed.  "I'm sure if I put it the right way, Kaito-kun will be more than willing to tag along, but why do you need him there?"

"There is still a threat to Aoko-chan, is there not?  And he needs to know how her power will work and what the triggers will be, since he'll be taking care of her."

"So you've seen that, have you?"

"Ginzo-san, it's not like it takes prescience to see something like that!  It's written all over his face!" Minami giggled

"You've been spying again, haven't you."  Nakamori accused her.

"Of course I have, I have to keep my hand in somehow or I'll loose all my skills from brain atrophy." she said in a faux self-righteous tone.

"Mariko always did say you were a busybody." Nakamori chuckled.  "Since you suggested Sundays, why don't we meet for lunch tomorrow.  That will give all of us a chance to get some sleep tonight and be well-rested to field all the questions they will no doubt throw at us."

"Alright, lunch it is, then!" Minami agreed.

As he sat beside Aoko waiting for Jii to arrive, Kaito kept replaying the events of the heist in his head.  It had been strange just how _calm_ he had stayed after being shot, and he was at a bit of a loss to explain it.  It was almost like he had internalized his poker face, which was not something he had ever done before.  Even when he was shot from the sky in that "Memory's Egg" debacle, he had been fully aware of his inner level of panic, even if he hadn't showed it, but this time was different.  This time he had felt only the adrenaline rush of... Strangely, he could only call it battle, since the rush he got from a heist was different, manic where this had been calm.  It was almost like something had taken over his brain and shut down everything except the functions necessary to get through alive, and it hadn't worn off until he and Aoko were out of immediate danger.

"Well, whatever it was, I'm glad for it.  Otherwise I might not have been able to keep you safe." he said softly to Aoko.  "I wasn't all that afraid for myself, but the thought of you getting shot..."  

He couldn't even articulate the horror and pain that he felt at imagining such a thing, so he took her hand in his, and laid his head next to hers on the pillow, reassured by the steady beat of her pulse under his fingers and the gentle wind of her breath on his cheek.  He closed his eyes - _just for a minute_ - and was almost instantly asleep.

Jii found them like that when he arrived twenty minutes later, and he had to smile.  It was about time things changed between those two.  After all, it wouldn't do to let the Kuroba line die out, and he could hardly imagine the young master settling with anyone else but her; he'd long ago become resigned to their attachment.  Their pose was so sweet he could hardly resist the urge to capture it for posterity, so he pulled out the small digital camera he always kept on hand and managed to get a couple of different angles before Kaito opened his eyes.  Sometimes it really paid to be able to  dampen his ki.  Of course, it also didn't hurt that he was familiar to the young master.  Kaito had quite an awareness of who and what was around him, even when he was calmly sleeping he didn't miss much.

"You two make quite the picture, I take it that Aoko-san falling asleep is not the only thing that happened tonight, you're not usually so tired this soon after a heist."

"They're all interrelated.  First I should tell you, so you don't hear it somewhere else and worry, I got shot in the leg tonight on the heist.  I'm fine now, I'm...healed, but the pants I was wearing are a write-off, we're going to have to dispose of them."

"You got shot but now you're healed." Jii repeated calmly, never one to overreact.

"Yes.  You see, as it turns out...  Do you remember me telling you I was worried about Aoko having nightmares all the time?" Kaito asked as he picked Aoko up gently to carry her to the car.

"I do remember that, yes."

"Well, it seems the nightmares were premonitions about tonight, and a sign that she was coming into her ancestral powers as a miko."

"A miko?"

"Yeah, it surprised me too, but apparently she comes from a long line of miko whose primary power is healing.  The reason she passed out tonight is because she healed my bullet wound.  Oh, and she knows who I am, she saw it in her premonition dreams and Kaachan confronted me about telling her, since she'd kinda figured it out anyway, so, yeah..." he trailed off, watching Jii who was watching him silently as he settled Aoko in the back seat of the car and buckled her into place.  "Oh, and I also found out a couple of days ago that the same syndicate that killed Touchan killed her mother too, and I'm supposed to protect her in case they find out who she is and come after her."

"So to recap, in the last two days or so, you've found out Aoko's a miko whom the syndicate could be after and whom you have to protect, told both your mother and Aoko the truth about the Kid, prepared for and executed a heist, been shot, and been healed through some arcane method.  Is that it?"

"Oh yeah, and the Angel's Tear I was after on this heist actually belongs to Aoko, so Nakamori gave me a fake to replace it with, since we have a kindof temporary truce for the duration of my having to protect Aoko."

Jii just shook his head in amazement.  "I think you're going to have to give me this one in the long version, the summary is just too much to summarize, apparently."

"Alright, I'll fill you in on the way home." Kaito agreed as he settled into the passenger seat.

Kuroba Meimi paced her husband's workshop, growing steadily more frantic with each circuit around the floor.  She almost half-wished she hadn't even turned on her police scanner tonight, but she always listened to Kai-chan's heists whenever she could, and why should tonight be any exception?  Everything had been going fine, she had even been laughing at his musical distraction, then all of a sudden she heard the words which froze her where she stood.  First Aoko-chan said something about  _"I'm not the one injured here!"_ then she heard the fateful words from Nakamori:

"_Kaitou Kid, stay where you are, we want to get the shooter_."

She instantly realized her worst fear - her son had been shot.  Not just shot _at_, but _shot_.

She tried to reassure herself that he was still talking and obviously well enough to manhandle Aoko to safety, but she had always harboured a horrible feeling that she was going to loose her son the way she had lost her husband, and the more time that passed without Kaito walking in the door, or calling to let her know he was okay, the sicker she felt.

It was now almost an hour and a half that she had been pacing up and down.  She kept trying to reassure herself with the thought that he was a strong boy, kept reminding herself that he had no idea she kept a police scanner and thus didn't have any way of knowing that she would be so worried about him, so why _would_ he call her, especially if his wound wasn't life-threatening, but she was still his mother, after all, and the thought of her baby boy hurt and suffering was intolerable to her.  As soon as he got home - and what _was_ taking him so long anyway? - she was going to hug him as tight as she could, and then she was going to tear a strip off him for being so inconsiderate to his own dear mother...because of course he was going to come home...wasn't he?

They were almost to the Kuroba residence by the time Kaito had finished his detailed explanation of the events of the last couple of days.  Jii, who had been mostly quiet through the whole story, finally spoke up.

"So show me this jewel you picked up tonight, I'm curious to see a bona fide magical stone." he said with a smile.

Kaito turned bright red.  "Aoko would kill me!  We'll just have to wait until she wakes up."

"Oh?  Why's that?  If she has it in her pocket surely it wouldn't be that difficult for you to slip it out and show it to me, then put it back."

"Because it's not in her pocket, that's why, she put it in her bra for safe-keeping."

Jii just laughed.  "Alright, I suppose I can wait." he agreed, "I wouldn't want to get you into any more trouble with the young miss than you already are."

"You can say that again."  Kaito said fervently, "I still have to explain to her about my reasons for keeping things from her.  I just hope she's in a forgiving mood."

"Well, given what you told me they did to her mother, I imagine she'll be quite eager to see justice done." Jii reassured him.

"Kaachan said the same thing," Kaito admitted, "and she did take everything really well up to this point... Actually, I'm a little surprised at just how understanding Aoko's been with all this.  Mind you, some of it must be shock.  It's a lot to take in all at once, and she doesn't even know about the miko stuff yet, her dad's gonna have to tell her about that."

"Truly, I feel for the poor girl.  She's lucky she has you to support her through all this."

Kaito laughed.

"Well, I'll drop you here." Jii said, turning onto the street parallel with the back of Kaito's house.  "I'm sure you won't mind having to carry the amazing sleeping Nakamori there, eh young master Kaito?" he said with a wink.

Kaito grimaced.  "If Aoko ever hears you call her that she'll take after you with a mop...or maybe one of your pool cues." he laughed as he unbuckled her and picked her up again.

Jii smiled.  "That's why I said it while she was asleep.  That way I'm safe.  I wish you luck in your explanations once she wakes up."

"Thanks Jii, you have a good rest of the night too!" Kaito smiled, since he couldn't properly wave with his arms full of Aoko.  He headed for home as Jii pulled away to do the same.

Kaito shrugged Aoko into a better position and she mumbled something he couldn't quite hear and nuzzled against him.  All of a sudden his heart was racing again, not to mention the reaction from the rest of his body, and he was abruptly reminded that he had kissed this girl in his arms tonight - _finally_ added his hormones - and she hadn't seemed to have any objections to the idea...  He firmly shoved his hormones down and told them what they could do with themselves, since Aoko was still fast asleep.  His hormones countered with an image of how he might wake her up a la fairytale.  It was tempting to see if that might actually work, but then he thought of how injured he'd been, and how much energy it must have taken to heal him, and his hormones reluctantly bowed in defeat to his protective instincts.  He softly stroked her back.

"Just stay asleep Ao-chan.  I'll be right here if you need me." he whispered.

She sighed and settled down again.

He snuck down the ally and into one of the entrances to his father's lair.  Even after being the Kid for more than a year, he still couldn't think of it as _his_ for some reason.  He walked down the passageway silently, having done it so many times that he knew every squeak and rough spot that might trip him up, so he had no need of a light.  Besides, there was a light up ahead which seemed to be coming from the workshop.  He must have left it on.  He did that sometimes without meaning to, usually when he was a bit distracted with a heist.  He thought he'd turned it out, but...  His thoughts were interrupted when he heard noises in the workshop as well.  It sounded like someone in house scuffs pacing back and forth.  He slowed down his approach and sidled along the wall to a spot where he could see around the corner without being seen.  He didn't honestly think some sort of dark assassin had found him out, snuck into his house _and_ the secret hideout, and was wearing house-scuffs to trick him into thinking there was no threat, but he couldn't be too cautious, especially when he had already been shot once tonight.

Of course, it wasn't any kind of "dark assassin" who was pacing back and forth, it was his mother, who looked right at him as she turned to pace back, having been habitually checking all the entrances in her worry.

"Kaito!  You're back!  Oh Kami-sama, _finally_!" she cried, running toward him.  "Do you have any _idea_ how frantic I was?  You didn't call, you didn't come home...  Are you okay? Where are you hurt?  I heard everything over the police scanner, so you'd better not try to deny it, young man." she said sternly.  All of a sudden she became aware of Aoko in her delinquent son's arms.  "And what happened to Aoko-chan?"

"Her power blossomed." he explained.  "Which means I'm fine now, since she healed me, but she'll sleep for a while longer."

"You're fine?  But you were _shot_!  How can that be?" Meimi asked, stunned.

Kaito smiled gently as he set Aoko down on the old futon he kept down here for late nights.  "It seems Aoko's quite a powerful miko - or maybe it was the Tenshi no Namida's influence - I don't know, but either way, thanks to her I'm back in one piece."

Meimi let out a deep sigh she hadn't even realized she was holding.  "Alright, since you are indeed in one piece, then answer me just one thing: what took you _so long_ to get home!  Do you have any idea how _frantic_ I was?"

"If I'd known about your police scanner I promise I would have called and let you know I was okay.  I was kinda stuck out at the National Library, since Aoko fell asleep and I don't want to wake her.  Probably couldn't even if I wanted to she's that deep out of it.  She has to sleep to recover from using her power."

"So how did you get back here?" Meimi asked.  "I'm sure you didn't use the bus, not with a sleeping girl!"

"You know Jii?"

"Yes, of course I do.  So he gave you a ride home."

"Yup!  Oh, and I have to call Nakamori.  Promised him I'd call as soon as I got home."

"In a minute.  You still owe me a hug, young man!  I was _worried_ about you!"

Kaito laughed, then went over to his mother and enfolded her in his arms.  "Sorry for worrying you Kaachan." he apologized.

She squeezed him tight, then released him with a swat to the backside.  "You'd better be sorry!  And next time you're late getting home, I expect a phone call!"

"Hai, Kaachan." he said repentantly.

"Alright, now you can phone Ginzo-san.  He's probably just as worried about Aoko as I was about you." she said, handing him the phone.

Nakamori had just finished wrapping up his investigation of the crime scene and was heading back to headquarters when his celphone rang again.  He checked his watch as he answered.  Just over an hour since he had talked to Kaito-kun, so he must be home.

"Nakamori."

"Hi Nakamori-san, it's Kaito."

"I thought it might be you, Kaito-kun, the timing was about right.  You made it home in one piece then?  Nothing else happened on the way?"

"Nope, we made it back fine.  Aoko hasn't woken up yet, although she was showing signs of regaining consciousness a few minutes ago."

"Well, she'll wake up when she's ready.  I suppose the Kid disappeared again." he said with a sigh.

Kaito leaned back in his chair and winked to his mother.  "Yeah, Kid's long gone.  He dropped us a block from here, then left for who-knows-where.  Yawning a bit, but otherwise he seemed his usual self."

"Hmm...You didn't happen to find out anything about him, did you?  Since you were around him for so long."

"Nope, he was pretty closemouthed about anything important" Kaito said with a cheerful shrug.  All of a sudden his attention was caught by Aoko, who rolled over, mumbling something about getting to school on time, then sat up.  "You're not supposed to be up yet." he chided her.

"Is Aoko up, then?" Nakamori asked.

"Morning Kaito.  Where am I?  I had the weirdest dream..." she looked around more thoroughly.  "It wasn't a dream, was it?" she said softly.

"Yes, she's awake.  Did you want to talk to her?" he asked.  To Aoko he said, "Not a dream this time Ao-chan, sorry."

"You're back at our house." Meimi whispered to her, "This is Toichi's hidden workshop."

"I guess I have some explaining to do, so I should probably talk to her." Nakamori sighed.

"Your dad wants to talk to you." Kaito said, walking over to hand the cordless phone to Aoko.

"Tousan?  What happened tonight?  It was like someone had taken sections straight out of my nightmares!  And then I felt this _pull_ inside my heart, and then the Kid was all cured...and now I'm back at Kaito's place.  What's going on?"

"It's kindof a long story, so why don't I just give you the short version for tonight, since you must be tired."  Nakamori suggested.

"What is it with all the 'long stories' lately?" Aoko sighed.

"Who else was telling long stories?" he asked, confused.

Aoko realized she couldn't exactly explain what she was talking about just as she opened her mouth, so she changed her answer on the fly.

"Oh, just Kaito.  He still has yet to explain to me _why he didn't do anything to capture the Kid when he had the chance_." she explained, looking over at Kaito as she said the second part.  It was close enough to the truth.

"Ah." her father said, with an odd tone of voice, like he was thinking about something else.  "Well, Aoko, the story goes like this:  You're a miko, and so was your mother.  It's genetic, and it's something you grow into.  I never told you about it before for your own protection.  Your mother didn't just die from a random illness; there is a crime syndicate who would do just about anything to gain 'immortality' and they poisoned her with thallium to try and make her give them that moonstone Kaitou Kid gave you tonight."

"Mama was killed?  Murdered?" Aoko asked, outraged, "Why didn't you ever tell me any of this?"

"Because we were, and still are, in hiding, and I was sworn to secrecy until your power blossomed, which is what happened tonight.  Besides, I didn't want you growing up with the thought that you had to take revenge...or living in fear all your life waiting for them to come for you."

Aoko sighed.  "Not that I feel any more secure about it having just found out now."

"I know," Nakamori said sadly, "and I'm sorry for that.  If it'll make you feel any better, you do have people looking out for you."

Kaito heard the fear and uncertainty in her tone and went to sit next to her.  "Don't worry Ao-chan, I won't let them so much as _touch_ you." he said quietly but firmly.

She gave him a little smile and leaned against him.  "Thanks Tousan, that does make me feel better." she said.

"Good.  Well, I shouldn't keep you up, I'm sure you'll be wanting more sleep, and you have an aunt to meet tomorrow who can explain everything way better than I can, so I'll say goodnight.  Don't worry about coming home; I won't be finished at work for at least another hour, so you just crash at Kuroba-san's house, I'm sure she won't mind."

"Okay Tousan, I'll see you in the morning then.  Oyasumi nasai."

"Oyasumi Aoko." her father said as cheerfully as he could manage, then hung up.

Aoko hung up as well, then turned to Kaito.

"Are you going to be okay with all this?" he asked her.

"Did you know?  Did you know my mother was murdered and I was in hiding?"

He nodded, subdued.

"And you didn't tell me?  How long have you known?"

"Only two days, and I wanted to tell you, only I haven't really had an opportunity, you know?  I've been _slightly_ busy explaining my _own_ situation.  I was going to get to it eventually."

"I guess you did have a lot to explain." Aoko conceded.  "What I wonder about, though, is the ones who killed Mama.  They sound kindof like the syndicate you were telling me about before."

"That's because they are the same, or at least branches of the same black organization." he confirmed.

What she saw in Kaito's eyes made Aoko gasp it was so dark.  At the sound of her surprise, though, his gaze softened.

"You must still be tired Aoko-chan, not to mention the rest of us," Meimi interjected, "Kai-chan, why don't you get the guest room ready, and I'll get one of my spare nightgowns out, then we can all have a cup of tea to calm down and get some sleep."

"Okay Kaachan." Kaito agreed, taking the phone with him to hang it up on the way.

Aoko followed Meimi silently up the stairs and through the portrait of Kaitou Kid into the rest of the house, not sure whether she was feeling the lack of sleep or the shock of what see had learned more clearly.  

As she pulled a clean nightgown out of the second-floor closet, Meimi turned to Aoko.

"Now dear, I know you must be upset by all this, I certainly was when I found out about Toichi, and there wasn't _nearly_ as much to that, but I want to assure you, Kai-chan had only your safety and happiness in mind when he decided not to tell you about him being the Kid.  Boys can be silly that way, they never seem to realize that we girls are capable of handling any number of shocks to the system without breaking."

"I don't know, Meimi-bachan, I think Kaito just didn't trust me not to turn him in." Aoko said in a somewhat unsteady voice.

"And it hurts, thinking he doesn't trust you, that he doesn't care, doesn't it." Meimi sighed.  "He does, you know.  Care, that is.  I know, I've seen the pain in his eyes when he looked at you over this past year or so.  I honestly think lying to you and hiding from you hurt him more than finding out the truth about his father."

"But if it hurt him so much to lie to me, why didn't he just tell me the truth?"

"Because I just wanted some part of my life to be normal, to be the way it was before everything else changed.  Besides, I didn't want to force you to choose between your father and me.  It would make you hurt, and I didn't want that." Kaito said softly, coming up behind her.  "I knew you would choose your father over me, I mean, why wouldn't you, right?  He's your dad, after all."

"Kaito no _baka_!" Aoko half-sobbed as she turned on him, "If you had just told me your reasons before, I wouldn't have said a thing to him.  I loved your dad too, and I... I..."  tears started rolling down her face, and she was suddenly in his arms.  "I almost _lost_ you tonight, and I would never have known _why_ you were gone, and I couldn't _live_ like that Kaito, I just _couldn't_!"

"I'm sorry Ao-chan, honest I am.  I just... I thought you'd be safer if I kept you at arms' length, kept you from getting involved..." he let out a depreciating half-laugh and tucked her head under his chin.  "Guess that was kindof pointless, seeing as how you already were involved and I just never knew, though, wasn't it?"

"Kaito... I won't say anything to my father, although I think he suspects something already from my dreams.  I want to help you.  These syndicate guys - they've already hurt too many people.  I had to grow up without a mother because of them, you lost your dad..."

She didn't get any further than that; with what almost sounded like a choked-back sob, Kaito tilted her head up and kissed her, soundly, and with a degree of passion she hadn't expected him to show.  Smiling, Meimi snuck off to make some hot chamomile tea before the two of them remembered she was there and got embarrassed.

When Kaito finally pulled back to catch his breath, Aoko nuzzled her face into his neck.

"I'm still mad at you, you know, you should have had more faith in me." she said softly.

"I know, and I promise I'll make it up to you from now on." he assured her.  "Now c'mon, you've got your nightgown, it's time for you to go to bed." he said with a smile, followed by a cavernous yawn. "And me too... MAN am I tired!"   He hugged her tightly one last time, then let her go and walked her to her room.

"Yasumi." he smiled at her.

"Oyasumi, Kaito." she smiled back and blushed, then ducked her head and slipped into the room.  She could hear him whistling as he walked down the hall to his own room and it made her feel warm and very… safe, somehow.

When Meimi came back with the tea, both of them were in their beds, and dead-to-the-world asleep.  She set the tea down on the hall table and tucked each one in, first Aoko then Kaito, then with a gentle kiss to her son's forehead she headed for bed and (hopefully) sleep as well.  Her last fleeting thought was one she often had – she wished her husband was here.

There!  Now the day is finally over, and everyone can recharge to meet the new challenges of tomorrow… and there will be challenges, I can promise you that!

And speaking of promises, I said I would explain Marishiten, so here goes with my best explanation:  As I understand it, Marishiten is a Goddess borrowed originally from the Hindu pantheon.  She is a deity of light, the light of the moon and the sun, and especially the light of dawn.  In Japan, warriors pray to her to bring them focus in battle, much the same way Norse or Celtic warriors prayed to their Gods and Goddesses for strength in battle, but instead of the fierce berserker rage those deities granted, Marishiten grants a detached calm which allows the warrior to ignore pain and focus only on the battle around him.  Apparently she is still invoked by martial artists (I found a lot of karate pages dedicated to her).  As for the healing, it is a common trait of many miko, irregardless of which deity they channel.

In today's chapter I used the term "shinriki".  This refers to a god's energy or "ki" which humans can tap into or channel, and as such, it's a little more specific and limited than simply referring to the god's "power", sorry if anyone was confused by the term!

Oh, and one more thing.  I made some references to Wicca in relation to Akako.  I'm not trying to claim she is Wiccan, just that she had a teacher at some time who was.  Although her magick does seem to suggest some Wiccan influences, there are also Quabbalistic bits in there too… bit of a mishmash, gonna have to play with that later…  If I do make her predominantly Wiccan it'll be because that's what I know better, and no implication that there's anything wrong with Quabballistic stuff. ^_^;;

Well, I hope you all enjoyed this latest chapter, and I'm still working hard, so there should be another chapter by next month… I won't promise it any sooner than that, since I have a lot of research to do for it…gotta make sure all my Miko stuff is accurate!


	8. 7 Caught in the Middle of a Hundred and ...

Well, finally here it is, what you have all been waiting for, the next chapter of Moonlight Shadow. Actually it's been written for a while but I couldn't post it due to computer troubles.

In any case, this chapter needs an extra disclaimer right now before you all skip over the boring part and right into the story.  This chapter contains a fairly detailed description of a magickal ritual.  PLEASE do not attempt magick yourself unless you already know what you're doing or have someone with you who does, and please don't use this ritual as a guide.  I have deliberately left out some very important points, and while it is authentic, and it is the way I would do it, it is not the way everyone would do magick, so also keep that in mind.  

Also, related to the last warning, this chapter does contain nudity, BUT it is not in any way sexual.  If I receive complaints I will up the rating, but I don't feel it warrants anything higher than PG13, since I don't describe anything.

All that being said, please enjoy the chapter!  And I already have both chapter 8 and a background story in the works, so they should be along in a couple of weeks perhaps.  Before December in any case.

Moonlight Shadow

Chapter 07:  Caught in the Middle of a Hundred and Five

Around seven AM, Aoko drifted into wakefulness.  She was still a little sleepy, but she had too much on her mind to simply roll over and snooze off again, so she got up and shrugged on a borrowed dressing gown, checked quickly in the mirror to make sure her bangs weren't sticking straight up or anything embarrassing like that, and wandered into Kaito's room.

Kaito was sprawled out on his bed, still dead to the world, and Aoko chuckled as she sat down next to him.  It reminded her of when they were younger.  She had always been an earlier riser than he was, even if she wasn't particularly coherent or conscious when she woke, and when they used to have sleep-overs as children she had taken great delight in tormenting him until he joined her in the world of the waking.

Aoko smirked wickedly to herself.  If she remembered correctly, Kaito was _particularly_ ticklish on the sides of his knees, and the way he was sprawled out only half-under his blankets gave her perfect access to one of them.  She leaned over and was just about to run her fingers ever-so-lightly over his skin when her hand was caught in one of his.

She muttered one of her father's favourite expressions as he laughed and smiled at her with his eyes still closed, obviously fully conscious although he showed no other sign of having woken up.

"Nakamori-san!  I am appalled!  Attempting to molest me in my own bedroom?  What can have come over you?" he said, keeping his voice down so his mother wouldn't wake up.

"Hentai!  Why would I try to molest you?" she hissed, aiming a swat at his head.  He caught that hand before it could connect as well.

His smile widened as he raised both hands over his head, causing her to loose her balance and fall over him.  "No, you're right, I'm sure you had no ulterior motive whatsoever in being on my bed while I was sleeping." he said in a voice full of lazy irony.

"Okay, so maybe I was going to tickle you awake..." Aoko admitted, "But I wasn't trying to _molest_ you, baka."

"Mmm... shame that." he said, his grin practically splitting his face as his arms moved around her before she could blink or get away, "I guess I'll have to be satisfied with just having you here with me for a bit." His expression turned thoughtful.   "D'you know, two nights ago your nightmare was so bad your dad insisted I stay the night.  I fell asleep and woke up with you all snuggled up to me...  I really liked that feeling, but I didn't think I'd be allowed to enjoy it again, so could you just stay here for a little while?"

Aoko blushed brightly, but she also found herself relaxing against him.  "Okay." she whispered, shifting her arms down so they were around his shoulders and pulling her legs up onto the bed.  He tightened his arms around her and she smiled through her blush.  "I like this too." she agreed.

As she lay there snuggled with Kaito, his blankets trapped between them, Aoko found herself mildly surprised at how... _comfortable_ she felt.  Even if the situation did make her blush a bit, it was a happy blush.  If this had been any other boy, she admitted to herself, she would be struggling willfully to get away, but this was _Kaito_, she'd known him for years and years, and even if he had lied to her about the Kid, (and she was still mad at him about that) she _trusted_ him, or at least trusted him not to do anything to hurt her.

'And he kissed you last night.' her inner voice pointed out gleefully, 'Twice.  And you weren't dreaming this time.'

Aoko wondered about that.  It was unlike him to be so physically demonstrative, especially in the last couple of years when it had almost seemed like he had put a thin wall of ice between them.  And that had been going on longer than he had been Kaitou Kid, so _that_ couldn't be the reason for it.

"Ne, Kaito," she said softly, "how come you kissed me yesterday?  Not that I'm complaining or anything, I just..."

"Baaa-ka." he replied drowsily, squeezing her a little tighter, "Kissed you 'cause I like you.  Have for years."

"Then how come you never kissed me before?"

"Didn't think you'd want me to.  Didn't think you'd let me, really."

"You're the baka then.  If I'd known you liked me I would've."

"Hontou?"

"Hontou."

"Damn." Kaito sighed with feeling.  "Oh well, guess I just have to catch up for lost time then."  He tilted her head up and leaned down slightly to catch her lips with his.

Knowing now how he truly felt, Aoko found herself being drawn deeper and deeper into the small world their bodies created between them... it just felt so _right_.  The decision to stop, when it finally came, was a mutual one, and somehow Aoko could still feel that deep connection thrumming between them like the plucked string of a samisen.  She closed her eyes and snuggled her head back into his chest, and proceeded to fall right back to sleep.

Hakuba Saguru didn't sleep that Saturday night.  He hadn't been allowed on the heist-watch, (which only reinforced his private impression of Nakamori-keibu as incompetent in not putting to use all the resources at hand) so he had decided to stake out Kuroba-kun's house instead.  He waited and waited, drinking can of cold coffee after can of cold coffee, but although he saw lights come on and go off throughout the night, he never saw anyone enter or leave the house after Kuroba-kun and Nakamori-kun left to go to the heist.  He was mildly disappointed, but not terribly surprised to learn that Kuroba-kun had alternate entrances to his house, Saguru had guessed as much before.  No, Kuroba-kun getting in without alerting him was no shock, the shock came at nine thirty-six the next morning when both Kuroba-kun _and_ Nakamori-kun left by the front door again.  Together.  Saguru watched them head down the street to Nakamori-kun's house, slowly becoming aware that his jaw was currently located somewhere around his knees.  It only dropped lower when he noticed them holding hands, their fingers interlaced, and the way Nakamori-kun blushed when Kuroba-kun leaned over to whisper something in her ear before they headed up the stairs into her house.  He forced his mouth shut with an audible _click_ and rubbed his eyes to make sure he hadn't fallen asleep and just dreamed seeing those two as a couple.  He had been aware for a long time of the connection between the two of them of course - who wasn't, after all - but he had also been aware of the efforts of Kuroba-kun to keep Nakamori-kun at a safe distance; something Saguru greatly approved of.  Even hampered by the massive amounts of caffeine he had ingested over the course of the night his analytical genius didn't have any difficulty adding up the facts of this newest development.  

Fact #1: Nakamori-kun and Kuroba-kun leave a building they had to have entered in secret.  

Fact #1a: Only Kuroba-kun should know how to get into that building undetected.

Fact #2: Kuroba-kun is being open about his feelings for Nakamori-kun, a new development in the last twenty-four hours.  

Fact #3: Nakamori-kun reciprocates the show of feelings and allows intimate contract between the two of them without any apparent threat of repercussions.  

Fact #4: Previous to this morning, Kuroba-kun had made a great effort to keep Nakamori-kun from getting too close to him in order to protect his secrets and her.  

Conclusion: At some point the night before, Nakamori-kun had found out Kuroba-kun's secrets - both of them - and she was okay with them.  

Saguru was, quite frankly, appalled.

Around nine thirty, after sleeping in and a pancake breakfast courtesy of Meimi, Kaito and Aoko headed back to Aoko's house.  Just as they were leaving, Kaito noticed that Aoko seemed a little nervous about something, so he reached over and caught her hand in his. 

"What's wrong?" he asked.

"Nothing really..."

"Right, nothing..." Kaito rolled his eyes.

"It's just, Tousan said I'm supposed to meet this aunt from Mama's side of the family today.  I never even knew I had any relatives on my mother's side, what if she doesn't think I'm ladylike enough?  And yes, I am aware that I'm a bit of a tomboy."

Kaito shifted his hand-hold so that their fingers were interlaced, then smiled at her and squeezed her hand, causing her to blush brightly.  "There.   If anyone accuses you of being unladylike, just blush like that and they'll take it all back!" he said cheerfully.

She growled and hit him on the back of the head with her free hand, but she still held on tightly with the other as they left the house.

It was a short walk back to her house, and a quiet one as well, but this time it wasn't an uncomfortable silence, they both said all they needed to say in the connection between their two hands.  

When they reached Aoko's house, just before they went up the stairs, Kaito turned to whisper in her ear.

"I should probably let go of your hand before your dad sees and skins me alive." he said regretfully.

"Don't worry.  If he makes a fuss about it I'll tell him to mind his own business." Aoko said, then blushed and ducked her head bashfully.  "I like holding your hand, I don't _want_ to let go." she insisted.

Kaito's broad smile spoke volumes and he squeezed her hand again as she went fishing for her keys.

Nakamori was still lingering over a second cup of coffee at the breakfast table when he heard the door open and close, followed by his daughter's cheerful "Tadaima!" and the sound of shoes being exchanged for house slippers.  He set down his mug and headed into the living room before calling "Okaeri" back.

Now Nakamori Ginzo has sometimes been accused (although rarely to his face) of being slightly unobservant when it comes to his only daughter.  He should be commended, therefore, for taking less than a minute to notice how intimately her fingers were intertwined with Kuroba-kun's.  He cleared his throat disapprovingly.

"Kuroba-kun, I believe I said something to you the other day about taking liberties..." he said sternly.

Kaito sighed and loosened his grip on Aoko's hand.  No point deliberately aggravating Nakamori on off hours.  Aoko, when she felt him do this, tightened her own grip and glared at her father.

"Tousan, if Kaito was taking liberties don't you think I would have hit him before now?" she pointed out in her sweetest voice.  She turned and smiled at Kaito.  "I should go have a shower and get changed, I'll be back in a bit." she said, then glared again at Ginzo.  "And if you threaten Kaito while I'm gone I _will_ know, and you _will_ hear about it later." she said firmly.  She squeezed Kaito's hand one last time before heading upstairs.

Once she was out of earshot, Kaito turned to Nakamori.  "Scary, isn't she." he said with a smile.

"Sure is.  I guess I'll let you off with a warning _this time_, but just see that it doesn't happen again." Nakamori said sternly.

Kaito raised one eyebrow.  "Nakamori-keibu, was that a joke?  You're picking up bad habits."

Nakamori laughed.  "Your father used to say exactly the same thing, and I'll tell you what I always told him; as long as it doesn't affect my job, I can be just as funny as I damn-well please when I'm off-duty."

Kaito laughed at that.

"Besides, Aoko's right, I fully trust her ability to defend herself... when she's awake."

"I wouldn't dream of taking advantage of her while she's sleeping, I'm thrilled with whatever small shows of affection she's willing to concede me." he said seriously.

"You two seem more... comfortable together than you were." Nakamori pointed out.  There was still a little suspicion in his tone, but he sounded more wistful than anything.

"After the scare she gave me last night, she and I talked about a few things." Kaito explained without really explaining.  

It was enough for Nakamori, however.  He nodded in understanding.  "Her mother was the same way." he said softly, remembering.

"I wish I could have met her."

"In a way, you know, it's only because Mariko died that you got to meet Aoko.  Of course, there's no way to know what would have happened if she had lived, but when Aoko was born we lived in Hokkaido, and there likely wouldn't have been any reason for us to move to Tokyo."

"It's strange how these things happen, isn't it." Kaito agreed.  

They both went and sat down in the living room, and Nakamori resumed drinking his coffee.  There was a somewhat uncomfortable silence, then Kaito spoke up.

"Aoko said something about meeting an aunt on her mother's side today?" he asked inquiringly, trying a lighter conversation topic.

"Yes, Mariko's cousin Minami is coming for lunch today.  She is also a miko, although not a healer, and she'll be teaching Aoko how to control and use her power.  Speaking of which, I'd appreciate if you would stay for lunch, since Aoko's bound to be a bit nervous."

"No problem." Kaito agreed, thinking back to Aoko's reaction before they left his house.  "Besides, I want to know how this healing thing she does actually works."

Upstairs, Aoko finished her shower and rifled through her closet for a nice sundress.  Her light blue one was feminine enough she decided, slipping it on.  She gave herself a once-over in the mirror and, after applying soft pink lip gloss, declared herself fit to meet this aunt her dad had told her would be coming.  She picked up the Tenshi no Namida from where it had been sitting on her bureau and rolled it back and forth in her palm.  Such a small thing, relatively speaking, just a smooth bit of rock that happened to have interesting refractive properties, and yet people had been willing to kill both Kaito and herself to keep it, had killed her mother trying to get it...

"Namida indeed." Aoko said sadly as she slipped it into her bra again to sit over her heart.  It made her feel calmer and more focused somehow.  Yet another thing to ask her aunt about.

It was sounding pretty quiet downstairs, which was making Aoko a little nervous, so she headed down to make sure her father and her... she supposed she could think of him as her boyfriend now, she thought with a blush... hadn't killed each other.  She was vastly relieved to see the two of them sitting in the living room having a perfectly normal conversation.  A stray thought crossed her mind that if her father had actually known who he was talking to he wouldn't be nearly so calm.  Imagining his reaction made her giggle, and both men looked over at the sound.

Kaito's smile, when he saw what she was wearing, was the same smile he'd had that morning, but with his eyes open it was far more powerful.  She felt like she could fall into those deep pools of blue the way she had in her dreams.  His gaze traveled down to her feet, then back up to meet hers again and he winked.  Aoko blushed at that... then blushed brighter when Nakamori cleared his throat deliberately.

"You look lovely Aoko, now, why don't you have a seat.  We have a couple of hours before Minami's expected, and I should tell you my side of the story so you have a bit of an idea what's going on."

Takage was sitting in his office weighing the moonstone in his hand and signing paperwork when there was a knock on the door.  It being Sunday he wasn't expecting anyone, so he slipped the stone into his pocket and got up to answer the door  rather than merely inviting them in.  He was expecting it might be one of his security force, or perhaps an employee who had forgotten something, so he was rather taken aback to see two thickset men in black hats and trenchcoats.

"How can I help you, gentlemen?" he asked courteously.

"We need to talk with you about Kaito Kid." said the one on the left dispassionately in a lightly-accented voice.  Wherever he was from, he was definitely gaijin.

"Of course!  Please come in!" Takage stepped aside and the two trenchcoats walked in and sat down in front of his desk.

The trenchcoat on the right tipped his hat back and his sunglasses down to glare at Takage.  "Headquarters wants to know why you have been ignoring their memos." he said sternly, and his voice was almost identical to his partner, accent and all.  "You were sent a priority-one notice two days ago giving you explicit instructions on how to handle your encounter with Kaitou Kid.  Specifically, you were to make no overtly threatening moves and attempt to trail him and discover one of his lairs so it could be bugged.  From appearances you deliberately ignored orders and brought an assassination attempt to bear.  If Kaitou Kid_ had_ been killed, we wouldn't even be granting you the courtesy of this warning visit, you would already be dead.  You have only this one chance to redeem yourself, so start talking."

Takage had gone pale as a ghost and his hands were shaking.  He noticed, as he met the man's eyes, that they were two different colours, the left was green and the right was blue, and that only unnerved him more.  He'd heard stories about a man with bicoloured eyes...  He swallowed convulsively and started to talk.

 "I...we'd been having problems in the upper office with a prankster sending fake memos and advisories.  We caught and dealt with him a few days ago, but we made a policy to disregard anything sent from the authorization code he'd pirated for the next couple of weeks in case he had set anything to be time-released.  The memo's instructions seemed exactly like something he would have sent, so we assumed that was what it was and threw it into the shredder with the rest of his pranks."

"And why didn't you inform headquarters of this breach of communications?"

"It was an internal matter, and the authorization code he used was one we almost never received advisories from, so we weren't too concerned."

The trenchcoat who had been speaking turned to his quiet partner.  "What do you say Meade?  Can we let him off on this one, or shall we terminate him?"

"I don't know Whisky, He showed, on the whole, far too much initiative for his own good, but for the moment he's useful, we'd better let him live for now."

The one called Whisky pushed his sunglasses back up and his hat back down, then the two of them stood up abruptly, turned without saying another word, and left the room.  Takage collapsed back into his chair with a heartfelt sigh of relief, then hopped right back up again and ran for his executive washroom.

When he had watched for half an hour more and seen no one leave the Nakamori residence, Saguru decided it was time he went home and got some rest.  Even the finest deductive mind couldn't function without sleep, and he'd been up for twenty-seven hours and twelve minutes already.  He resolved that once he woke up, he would pay a visit to Koizumi-kun.  With her Kid-fixation she was sure to have been at the heist, and could give him a reasonably succinct run-down of events.  Letting out a jaw-cracking yawn he rose and stretched, then ambled off toward home.  He walked rather than taking the bus.  The last thing he wanted to do was nod off on the bus and miss his stop.

Over the next hour or so, Nakamori told Kaito and Aoko the story of a young rookie cop by the name of Chohayashi Ginzo, and how he met and fell in love with a volunteer nurse.  He talked about how she had eventually told him she was a miko, and of their marriage and the birth of their first child, a daughter.  Then he told of the miko's nightmares, and her premonitions of danger, of her slow and agonizing death from an incurable poison, the heavy metal thallium, and her young husband's investigation into the culprits of the poisoning which led to his discovery of the syndicate and, soon after his wife's death, sent him into hiding with his daughter, heir to his wife's power.

At some point during the story, Aoko had begun to cry silently, tears simply leaking from her eyes to trickle down her cheeks.  Kaito wordlessly put an arm around her shoulders to comfort her, and she leaned against him.

Around eleven-thirty, as Nakamori's story had just finished, there came a knock at the door.

"That would be Minami." he sighed, "Making a timely entrance as usual."  He got up and went to answer the door.

Aoko turned to Kaito and before she could even open her mouth to ask he handed her a handkerchief.

"Dab dear, don't rub, it only makes your cheeks and eyes redder." called a kindly female voice from the genkan.

Aoko nearly dropped the handkerchief in surprise.  She knew perfectly well the living room wasn't visible from the door.

"Sorry dear, did I startle you?" Minami apologized as she came into the room.

Aoko looked up to see a woman in her mid-forties.  Her black hair was pulled back in a tidy bun, the only sign of her age being two streaks of white at her temples.  Her features reflected classical Japanese beauty, but her most striking feature was her eyes, which were a dark blue verging on lavender.  Aoko dabbed hurriedly at her eyes before standing and bowing politely, followed quickly by Kaito.

"Oh Aoko-chan!  No need to be so formal, stand up straight and let me look at you, I haven't seen you since you were a baby!"  A wide smile broke out on Minami's face, and her mysterious air was banished like a cloud before the sun.

Aoko blushed slightly as she stood and met her aunt's gaze.

"You look just like your mother, you know." Minami noted.

Kaito frowned at that.  "Will that put her in any greater danger?" he asked.

"You must be Kuroba Kaito-san, Aoko-chan's friend." Minami nodded politely.  "You have a point there Kuroba-san.  Given the right opportunity, there are those within the syndicate who might make the connection between Mariko and Aoko-chan, but I believe the chance of that happening is fairly remote."

Nakamori gestured for Minami to have a seat, and they all sat down again.

"If anything, Aoko-chan is in more danger from having been seen by possible syndicate connections in close proximity to - and being rescued by - Kaitou Kid.  From what I've seen, the syndicate has been shadowing him for years now, just watching and waiting for him to find... something.  Their actions last night were unprecedented, actually opening fire and attempting to harm the Kid."

"They were trying to _kill_ him, not just hurt him." Aoko said softly.  "That first shot was aimed right at his heart.  If I hadn't caught his attention he would probably have died."

Kaito reached out and pulled her closer to him where they were sitting on the couch.  "The Kid is just damned lucky you kept a calm head on your shoulders." he said.

"Calm under fire?  That doesn't surprise me in the least.  The Tenshi Miko are always miko of Marishiten.  They can even channel that battle-calm to those around them if necessary." Minami explained.

Kaito nodded thoughtfully.

"Miko of Marishiten...  Is that why the Tenshi no Namida makes me feel calmer?" Aoko asked, "I was wondering about that."

"Most likely that has something to do with it if you still feel threatened.  From what records survive from the time before it was stolen, my understanding is that the Tenshi no Namida will sense the Tenshi Miko's mental and emotional state and tap into your latent miko power to deal with any apparent threat, and that _would_ make you feel calmer."

Kaito wrapped an arm around her waist and pulled her close "You're still worried about last night?" he whispered to her.

"A little" Aoko admitted softly.

Kaito frowned slightly and snugged her closer, tucking her in against his side, and she rested her head against his shoulder with a sigh.

Nakamori scowled at their affectionate display, but Minami reached out and touched his arm to catch his attention before he could interfere, then shook her head sternly "Yesterday was hard on both of them, just let them be.  They're under a lot of stress and they need this." she said softly.  When he grudgingly backed down, Minami turned to Aoko "Probably the best way to not worry is to learn to use your powers.  With training you'll learn what you can do, and gain some control over both yourself and the events going on around you."

Kaito winked at Minami.  "Control hmm... does this mean I won't get mop-smacked so much?  Maybe just on special occasions?"  he grinned.

Aoko growled and whapped the back of his head.  "Do you need a demonstration of how I'll _continue_ mop-smack you when needed?"

Kaito squeezed her waist, then reached out and touched a finger to her nose, making her eyes cross. "Remember, you're supposed to be ladylike!" he chided her gently.

Aoko blushed at that, and Minami chuckled.  "No need to restrain yourself on my account.  I've never ascribed to the notion that girls should act proper and refined all the time.  How horribly _dull_!  They'd be doormats for the men in their lives, and men need _someone_ to keep them in line.  Besides, you're a miko for a warrior-deity for goodness sakes, if you were placid I'd be both shocked and appalled."

Aoko laughed a little depreciatingly.  "Oh, I'm hardly _placid_." she admitted.

"Nope, you're not, but that's what we love about you, ne Nakamori-san?" Kaito said, turning to address her father, but watching her blushing face with appreciation out of the corner of his eye.

Nakamori briefly got the feeling Kaito was using the excuse of putting Aoko at her ease just to bait him, but he passed it off as overprotective father syndrome on his part.  He had always known the two of them were close, but he was swiftly becoming aware of just _how_ attached Kaito-kun was to his daughter.  It was reassuring, really.  He knew Aoko would be well-protected anyway, and cherished; and that was something every father hoped for for his daughter.  He forced himself to smile back at Kaito.

"Well, before we get too deep into studying, why don't we all have something to eat?" Minami suggested.  "And don't worry about cooking something for me," she told Aoko as the young woman made to get up, "we'll order in.  My treat."

Ever since she had woken up that morning, Akako had been thinking.  It was a beautiful day, but she hadn't gone anywhere or done anything but sit at home and mull over the events of last night and those of the past year or so.  She had finally come to the conclusion that her glamours had to go.  By making people - weak-willed though they might be -  adore and idolize her, she was only damaging her chances of being loved for herself.  She had once remarked that a witch's power was lost when she cried.  In point of fact, crying might not have been such a worry for most witches, it was more that salt water and regret was the geas which would break her glamours.  Thinking about it long and hard, she came to accept that her power was not in her glamours alone, she was powerful beyond such surface things, and once she had gotten rid of them, she resolved to have a good long cry about things.  Someone had once told her that crying was good for the soul, and she needed something like that just now.

Her parents were away, and she had sent the staff out for the day, so it was very quiet in the house as she set up her altar in the workroom.  It was just about the most unprepossessing room in the house when not in use, perfectly square, with a plain black floor and three plain white walls, the fourth bearing floor-to-ceiling wooden cupboards.  The only piece of furniture was a low rectangular table in the center of the floor which served as the altar and a pile of zambuton kept in one corner.  The quiet in the house was almost unnerving, and she found herself singing softly to the room as she arranged the candles and incense and all the necessary tools to perform magick.  She kept the altar tools to a bare minimum.  Since she would be uncluttering her self-image, she might as well keep the magickal space she was using uncluttered as well.  It could only help the situation.  The simplicity of the whole arrangement was rather pleasing to the eye when she was finished, and she stepped back to briefly admire it before going into the antechamber to change into her unadorned white robe.  Banishing the glamours would be better accomplished skyclad, but she didn't want to have to break the circles to get the robe if she got cold afterwards.  Finally ready to begin, she took a couple of deep, cleansing breaths and steeled her resolve.  She _could_ do this!  She slipped out of her robe and laid it next to the altar, and picked up the bowl of sea salt to begin.

Her decision had been made, but Akako was amazed at how nervous she still felt.  She almost felt like she was getting naked by dropping her glamours, but she knew it had to be done.  Taking a deep breath, she cast the first protective circle with sea salt, starting and ending facing north.  She backed up two steps and cast the next circle with pure water, then backed up three more steps to cast the third and final circle with salt water, setting down small candles and cones of incense as she went.  Finally she knelt on the small rug in front of the altar in the middle of the three circles and lit the altar candles, calling the invocations to the five directions.  For those who had eyes to see it, the very air shimmered with a protective dome of light whose edges mirrored the outer circle she had cast.  Had anyone else come into the room at that time, they would have been very uncomfortable; there was a massive static charge building, although Akako, inside the barrier, was unaffected by it.  Her long, thick hair absorbed the candlelight and gleamed with reddish highlights, and her pearlescent skin glowed from the warmth.  She was nude before the kami, but the incense wreathed her form, and protected her from human eyes.

Akako closed her eyes and felt the energies of her various glamours flowing over her skin.  As she concentrated on them, they became fully visible separate from her, a thin mask laid just above her own skin.  The girl beneath looked very similar to the overlay, but she didn't..._shine_ the same way.  In fact, if anything she looked a little pale and wan.  Before she could renege on her decision, she dipped her left hand into the bowl of salt water and touched the fingers of that hand to her forehead, drawing the shimmering full-body "adore me" and "immortal beauty" into her banishing hand.  As she trailed her hand down her face and body the glamour disappeared like a soap-bubble bursting ever-so-slowly, and when it was finally gone, she buried her hand in the bowl of earth in front of her and dissipated the remnants of the spells.  She dusted her hand off with a clean white cloth, then picked up a pinch of salt.  With great deliberation she opened her mouth and placed her salt-covered fingers to her tongue and lips.  Her mouth tasted like it was full of blood, and she watched with her mind's eye as the golden shine of her "honey-tongue" dissolved.  She cleansed her hand with earth again, then meditated to calm herself.  Her glamours had been a part of her so long that she had forgotten what it felt like to face the world, and the kami, without them.  

Without her glamours she was still beautiful, but her mahogany hair didn't absorb the light the way it had, nor did the red highlights glimmer like they had, and her skin was still pale and fine, but no longer did it gleam like porcelain. The protected area inside the dome was swirling with barely-seen colours and particles of light like little magickal fireflies, and more were seeping in through the barrier although what unhealthy energies there were in the room were staying outside.

Akako was amazed how invigorating it felt without her glamours separating her from the world.  She opened herself up to the flow of power around her and let it seep into her like water filling a dry sponge until it overflowed, pushing all the unhealthy energy out of her and making her radiant from within.  She barely noticed the tears streaming down her cheeks, she didn't even feel particularly sad, but it was just such a release to be able to let out all the tears she'd been holding back for years.  Strangely, the tears flowing over her face were restoring some of the beauty "lost" with her glamours.

When she felt completely calm and at peace, she dipped her right hand into her bowl of pure water, then into the bowl of sea salt, and drew a deosil pentagram on her forehead.  It flared gold and white, then faded into her skin.  She dusted the remaining salt off over her head, letting the grains cling to her skin and hair where they would.  With a whispered prayer to the elements she cast a general protection spell to take the place of the protections which had been woven into her glamours.  The new spell poured down over her in a cascade of honey-coloured light, and if felt a little like she had grown a very fine coat of fur, keeping her warm and protecting her delicate skin while at the same time extending her senses a few centimeters out from her body.  With her new protections in place, Akako released the energies she had been holding onto and slipped her robe back over her head.  The majority of the glow faded from inside the circles, but the altar candles and the circle candles retained an otherworldly glow.  She had just one final spell to do, and this one needn't be nearly so formal.  She took a small handful of rose petals, one of apple blossoms, and one of lavender.  Her hands were surrounded by a magenta-pink glow as she mixed the three in a small bowl, and her lips sparkled as she spoke the appropriate words over it, then poured the softly-glowing dried flowers into a red silk pouch on a long cord which she sealed with a knotted red piece of yarn and slid over her head to nestle over her heart.  Finally Akako was finished her spells for the day.  She made a brief prayer of thanks to the kami who had assisted her, performed an obeisance to the five directions, then opened each of the three protective circles she had cast, at the south this time.  Once the circles were open the energies she had used were absorbed back by their constituent elements and the room returned to its mundane state.  She put everything away in its proper place and changed back into her day-to-day clothes, then headed for the kitchen.  All that magick had made her _hungry_!

She was working her way through a large bowl of soup and a sandwich when the doorbell rang.  She hadn't been expecting anyone, and the staff was still out, so she did a quick scan for auras as she headed for the door.  When she realized who it was, she sighed in both relief and exasperation.  Hakuba Saguru.  The half-British boy had his uses, but he was far too obsessed with catching Kaitou Kid, and she didn't _want_ the Kid caught.  Even if she couldn't have him for herself, he was just so much fun to watch!

"What can I do for you, Saguru-kun?" she asked as she opened the door.

"You were at the heist last night, so you can start by telling me what happened."

"You mean the part where the Kid got shot, or the part where he and Aoko kissed?" Akako asked a little bitterly, deliberately trying to shock him.

"Okay, so it was a busy night.  Why don't you start from the beginning." Hakuba suggested, looking somewhat stressed himself.

"It'll take a while, why don't you come in."  Akako conceded, stepping back from the doorway to let him by.

After lunch, the discussion at the Nakamori household turned to the history of the Tenshi Miko and the Tenshi no Namida.  Aoko had taken the gem out (causing Kaito to blush as she fished for it in her bra) and laid it on the low coffee table so everyone could see it.  Apart from its size and lack of flaws, there was nothing visibly different between it and any other nicely-cut chunk of moonstone.

"So where did it come from in the first place?"  Kaito asked.

"None of my resources reach that far back." Minami admitted.  "Even the oldest records speak of the Tenshi no Namida and the Tenshi Miko as long-established, and I have records going back as far as the Heian Jidai.  In all of those, the Miko's healing powers and the miracles she could perform with the Namida are a constant.  There are even mentions of some of the stronger Miko bringing the dead back to life, although I wonder if those people would have been capable of being revived using modern medicine, obviously there's no way to know.  The records are fairly explicit, however, in the way the Tenshi Miko's powers will appear and the way to train those powers.  Once the young miko-to-be turns seventeen, she will begin to have prophetic dreams, and about six months after that, when there is some sort of crisis and someone she is close to is hurt, her power will blossom and she will heal for the first time.  After that, she needs the same sort of training as any miko in order to gain control over her powers, since she will unconsciously try to heal anyone nearby of even the most minor ailments, to the point that she could drain her own resources."

"Which is why I finally managed to quit smoking." Nakamori pointed out.

Aoko laughed.  "I knew there had to be a good reason for it.  There's no way you could just quit all of a sudden after not bothering to for years."

"I tried before..." 

"Right.  Whatever you say." Aoko rolled her eyes.

Minami laughed.  "In any case, for many years the Tenshi Miko were revered healers within the imperial court, until sometime during the Sengoku Jidai.  The record isn't clear on exactly what happened, but a miko of our line fell out of favor with a member of the imperial family, and there is a gap of perhaps twenty years before any mention is made of them again.  After that, the various miko tried their best to stay out of politics, realizing that their power was something which might become a point of contention, and this would only bring more trouble.  With the help of another family blessed with power in their bloodlines, they moved north to Hokkaido and lived there quietly until the Meiji Jidai.  During the early years of the Meiji, a gaijin "art collector" was touring Japan.  He was a less-than-honest man, and knew that he could make a great deal of profit on small items and objéts d'art from the recently-opened country.  During a tour of Hokkaido, he somehow came across the Tenshi Miko, and saw the Tenshi no Namida.  Deciding that it might make a pretty trinket for some lovely European lady to wear in her hair, he offered to buy it.  When he was (at first politely, then more firmly) refused, he took matters into his own hands, literally.  Late one night he snuck into the miko's home, used ether to render her and her family unconscious, then took the Namida and left town that same night.  The Tenshi Miko, her family and her friends, tried to get the Namida back, but they weren't able to catch him in time before he left Japan.  With the Tenshi no Namida gone, the Tenshi Miko's powers were greatly reduced, but not gone by any means, and there have always been other miko in the family, quite often with great power of their own.  One of these, a miko with strong prescient vision, foresaw a time when the Tenshi no Namida would return to Japan.  She knew that the kaitou who would steal it back for us would need a duplicate to leave in its place, so a duplicate was commissioned and created, and news of the loss was kept within the family, who faded from the public eye as best they could.  We're still not sure how the syndicate found out about us, or why they were so desperate for the Tenshi no Namida, but Ginzo-san here already told you what happened with your mother..."

Aoko nodded solemnly.

"And that is why you have to be so very watchful and careful now." Minami cautioned both the teens.  "Last night, besides you and the Kid, was there anyone else there who might have seen Aoko's use of power?" she asked.

"Only one.  A classmate of ours, Koizumi Akako." Kaito admitted.

"Akako-chan was there?" Aoko asked, confused, "I never saw her."

"That was after you passed out." Kaito explained.

"Oh."

"Is she a threat, this Koizumi-san?" Minami asked.

"I don't _think_ so.  She's been helpful to me before, and she seems friendly enough in her own way."  Kaito rolled his eyes at that.  "A little _too_ friendly for my tastes, most of the time." he admitted.

Aoko frowned at him.  "I don't understand why you have such a problem with Akako-chan."

"I think it's because I don't single her out for attention the way all the other boys do." he shrugged.

Nakamori and Minami both nodded knowingly.

"Is she the type to go after revenge if she's snubbed?" Minami asked.

"I doubt it.  If she hasn't done anything before now, she's not likely to start.  Besides, last night she could have just left and I would never have known she was there, but she made a point of coming over to reassure me after Aoko passed out.  She is a witch, apparently, and therefore somewhat knowledgeable about these things... or at least that's what she told me."

"A witch, ne?  We should be safe, but I'll pay her a little visit later to be sure." Minami nodded.

"One other thing about her you should know.  She has a bit of a Kid-obsession." Aoko sighed, "Which is probably why she was there last night."

"I understand." Minami said with a smile.  "Now Aoko-chan, it's time we sent the boys away and got down to work, wouldn't you say?"

"B..._BOYS_!?" Nakamori and Kaito spluttered in unison.

"Yes, boys.  Now shoo!" she motioned to them to leave, then blew them a kiss as they stood up.

"I guess I really should check in at the office and see if they have anything to report." Nakamori admitted.

"And Kaachan did say there were some things she needed doing around the house, I should probably go see what I can do to help." Kaito put in.

"We'll see you later, then." Minami waved cheerfully.

When Hirano-san's operative got a call to report in to head office two hours after he had filled his report, he was understandably a little nervous.  He didn't think he'd made any glaring omissions in his relay of events, but you could never tell with the higher-ups.  Sometimes they called you in just to feel important.  He adopted an appropriately humble bearing as he knocked at the door to the office of his superior.  He might not know the man's real name, he was only ever allowed to refer to him as "Boss", but the operative _was_ aware of just how much power Boss had over him.

"Come in." came Boss' slow, deep voice from the other side of the door.

He pushed the door open, willing himself to stay calm.

"Sit.  I want to hear more about your encounter with Kaitou Kid."

He sat in the black-upholstered chair in front of Boss' massive ebony desk.  "Well, first off, he makes a surprisingly difficult target for a guy in all white.  I only got in one good shot, and that was because he was occupied getting the girl safe."

"Ah.  Yes, the girl.  Tell me more about her."

"What's there to tell?  I've thought about it a bit, and I'm still not sure what she was even doing up on the roof, but the Kid definitely knew her.  He was shouting at her at one point, and he used her name - called her "Aoko" - and without any honorific.  He also seemed quite concerned with keeping her safe."

"That is his way.  Kaitou Kid is obsessed with keeping everyone around him safe.  The girl's name was Aoko you said?  Was this her?"  Boss placed a photo, obviously a blow-up of a surveillance shot, on the table.  In the center of the picture was the same girl he had seen on the roof the night before, only she seemed to be holding a sign of some kind.

"Yes, that's her." he affirmed

"I thought as much.  That is Nakamori Aoko, the only daughter of Nakamori Ginzo, the inspector in charge of Kid's cases."

"The daughter of his adversary then. .. He did seem unusually concerned over her."

"She may be useful then.  Did they seem...close?"

"They did.  For one thing, he knew just what speed she could run and ran at a speed to place himself as a shield, and for another, their gesticulations when they were arguing brought them quite close to each other, but each moved with familiarity and expectation of the other's movements."

"You're telling me they appeared to know each other well, then."

"Yes."

"This is most interesting.  Your keen observation skills are, as always, appreciated.  And for future reference, the Kid is off-limits for assassination, his skills are _far_ too valuable.  We made that mistake once before, but not this time.  You may go now." Boss released him.

Once he was out of the office, Hirano's operative heaved a great sigh of relief.  Yesterday's little debacle hadn't turned out as badly as he had thought.  That last little tidbit of information, though, was both intriguing and unexpected... and it made him realize just how close he had come to being in really, really _deep_ trouble. 

Sorry for the cliffie-like ending.  Rest assured, nothing is going to happen right away in the next chapter, this is only kinda setting the stage.  Hope you all liked this chappy, and I really hope you didn't find all the mushy stuff between Kaito and Aoko to be too much.

Hey!  Can anybody out there tell me what kind of a spell Aoko was casting at the end of her ritual?  Or why she was using three circles?  Extra brownie points to you if you can!

Oh yeah, and sorry for all the exposition -_-;;  it was kinda necessary though.

Amaya the BIRTHDAY kitsune!

Yeah, it's my b-day today, all day!


	9. 8 See You in Heaven One Day

Hello all! I bet you all thought I was dead, right? Well, no, I'm not dead, and neither is this fic, it was just on a very long hiatus. A very, very long one. Sorry about that. Cheers go out to "Kaitou Kid" (I did read your badge dear) who glomped me at acen 2004, who made me start working on this again then, and also my trip to Japan, which somehow ended up inspiring me on how to write this chapter. It was a really difficult one to write too! Pity me!

Er, yeah, I'll shut up now and let you get on with the fic.

Almost.

FIRST! A very important dedication. This chapter is dedicated to Ysabet, my favourite DC authoress, may she feel very much better as soon as she can.

(I don't know if she's ever read this humble little fic, but even if she hasn't, you should go read her fics. ESPECIALLY Windfall (although of course you have to read all the stories leading up to it) She is the absolute mistress of writing Kaitou Kid, and I bow before her superior talent.

Okay, now I'm done, you can all read the long-awaited chapter now:

Moonlight Shadow

Chapter 08:

See You in Heaven One Day

It wasn't the first time Saguru had been to the Koizumi home, he had gone there a few times, on various pretences, but on all those occasions he hadn't been allowed any further than the sitting room. He was surprised, therefore, when Koizumi-kun kept walking down the hall. He stopped outside the sitting room door and when she realized he wasn't behind her she turned around and motioned to him to follow. Saguru was so busy cataloguing the details of the house's interior that it took him until they reached the kitchen to notice the change in Koizumi-kun herself. Now, Saguru was a logical man - to a fault, some might have said - but he also subscribed to the teachings of the great Sherlock Holmes, and he had seen Akako-kun ride her broom before. _Once you have eliminated the impossible, whatever remains - however improbable - must be the truth._ He had come to accept that Akako-kun was not only a pagan by her chosen mode of worship, but was also a witch according to both sides of his heritage. He had become accustomed to the slightly unearthly appeal she projected, and even knew that it was a glamour (which was not to say he was unaffected by it by any means, but he had learned early on to shunt away most of its effect on his hormones). Well, he noted, however it had been created, the glamour was gone now. He decided it was probably better not to mention it, however; Akako was, after all, a very private person. Besides, if he brought it up and it was something she didn't want to talk about she would be less likely to tell him about the things he wanted to hear.

Akako sat down at the table, and then pushed a chair out with her foot. "Have a seat." she invited him.

"Thank you." He sat in the chair offered.

She pushed a plate of crackers and cheese over to him. "Please feel free, I can tell you haven't eaten properly today, and it's distracting." she said, not unkindly, and he noted that even her voice had changed somewhat.

Saguru took a cracker, placed a slice of cheese on it, and popped it gratefully into his mouth. Akako was right, of course, he'd only had a piece of toast and a couple of glasses of orange juice since waking up half an hour ago from his nap. The flavour of the cheese caught him by surprise, and he raised an eyebrow at Akako. "Havarti? Where do you get good havarti in Japan?"

"You'd be amazed what you can find if you're willing to look, and aren't concerned too much with the cost."

"I'm sure, but how did you ever acquire a taste for it?"

"I have some cousins in Europe, and we visited them once when I was young. I picked up quite a few odd tastes from them." Akako said with a reminiscent smile. "Well, I suppose I should start on my play-by-play of last night's events..."

Saguru ate his crackers quietly - well, as quietly as one can eat crackers - and listened as Akako laid out the events of the previous night before him. He tried not to let his shock show on his face, but Akako's description of Kaitou Kid's wound made him almost physically sick. But then, he never had been able to wrap his intellect around vigilantism.

"You tell me he was badly injured, and yet I saw Kuroba-kun this morning and he moved without even a hint of a limp." Saguru objected

"There's more to the story yet." Akako pointed out.

"You're right, there is. I apologize. Please, continue." he said politely.

Akako continued her tale, describing the Kid's getaway with Aoko and their landing on the roof. She didn't say which roof it was, or even what part of town, but then that was to be expected from her, so Saguru didn't push. Her expression when she described how Aoko had cared for the Kid was somewhat haunted, and as she told him how they had kissed, Saguru had been disturbed to see tears begin to trickle down Akako's cheeks. He had never _ever_ seen her cry before. Silently he offered her his handkerchief. He wished he could do more, but they had never been _close_ in that way and he didn't want to offend her. She took the small square of linen gratefully and dabbed at her eyes.

"Sorry, I thought I'd gotten all of these out of my system already." she said, trying not to sniffle.

"No need to apologize, I know of your infatuation with Kaitou Kid." They had both agreed, early on in their interactions with each other, that although both of them firmly believed Kuroba Kaito to be the Kaitou Kid, until there was incontrovertible concrete evidence to prove that belief they would refer to Kid and Kuroba as two different people in their little chats. Saguru wondered if Aoko's sudden change of attitude toward the Kid would count as solid enough proof. He decided he'd bring it up later, and concentrated on his food while Akako regained her composure.

After a minute or two, Akako had managed to stem the tide of tears, and she handed the handkerchief back. "Keep it." he shrugged.

Akako raised an eyebrow, then shrugged herself, folded it up and put it in her pocket.

"Now to my mind, the most important part of the evening is what happened next. _However_, I want your solemn oath that this won't go any further. It could put all of us in danger." Akako said firmly.

Actually a little taken-aback at Koizumi-kun's serious expression, Saguru bowed formally. "Everything you tell me will be kept in the strictest confidence, I swear on my Sherlock Holmes collection."

Akako smiled, she knew that was a promise he would keep.

"You remember how you expressed surprise at Kaito-kun's healthy condition this morning? Well, it turns out Kaitou Kid being hurt was a trigger for something Aoko-chan had kept hidden within herself. If I hadn't seen it myself I never would have believed it, but our Aoko-chan is a miko - a _very_ strong miko - whose talent seems to be healing. She healed a critical bullet wound as if it was nothing, and - here's the strangest part - the Kid wasn't even surprised by it. In fact, when I went to reassure him everything would be fine after Aoko-chan passed out, he said he'd been _expecting_ this."

If the police were surprised to see Nakamori-keibu at work, it was only surprise that he had waited so long to come in the day after a Kid heist. He explained that he'd needed to have a _discussion_ with his daughter. No more explanation was needed, they had all seen Aoko up on the roof the night before, and since she was the darling of the department, they had all been worried as well.

"So, what have we learned from last night?" Nakamori asked.

"Not much that we didn't already know about Kaitou Kid, besides the fact that he apparently likes J-pop." one officer sighed.

"That's not entirely true," countered another officer. "We did learn that he has an enemy or enemies beside the police."

"That's true." the first officer admitted.

"We managed to get a recording of the Kid's radio conversation." one of the technicians piped up.

"Good," said Nakamori. "I want everyone to listen to it. Maybe someone might be able to pick a clue out of it. I'll go first."

Sequestered down in the AV Forensics lab, Nakamori put on a pair of headphones as the tech started the recording. Due to that strange property loud music has of amplifying background sounds, he was able to hear quite a bit of the police cross-talk, but for quite a while he didn't hear anything from Kaitou Kid. Just as the song was drawing to its close, however, it abruptly went from stereo to mono, and in the other ear, Nakamori heard something which made him blanch.

_"Aoko, c'mon, that way."_ he heard a familiar young male voice say, _"I might be able to get a shot off at him from there."_

He knew that voice very well indeed. Part of him wanted to pass it off as Kid using a voice familiar to Aoko in order to reassure her, but as he continued to listen, his suspicions were all but confirmed by hearing again - more clearly - the argument he had overheard at the time, combined with his memory of Minami's words the night before. The real question was, what was he going to do about it? He had some serious thinking to do. He handed back the headphones to the tech as the tape ended.

"Tell the others that if they glean anything from this they are to come speak to me in my office." he instructed, then walked off without another word.

Nakamori actually managed to contain his urge to swear until he got to his office.

"#& Toichi, so that's why you made me swear to watch over them! You could have been a bit more considerate, damn you!"

Akako was highly amused by Hakuba's reaction to her news. She could literally see the cogs turning in his brain as he assimilated the idea of Aoko-chan having metaphysical powers. She enjoyed making him stretch his perceptions and understanding of the world, especially since, as long as his logic could be made to fit to it, he was surprisingly willing to accept the unusual.

The kettle whistled on the stove just then, startling both of them, and Akako got up to make tea.

"Earl Grey, right?" she asked him.

"If you don't mind."

As Akako walked by him to take the kettle off the heat, Saguru caught a whiff of her scent and turned to look at her quizzically.

"Koizumi-kun, why do you smell of lavender... and roses... and... apple blossoms?"

Akako blinked. "Do I?" she asked casually, "I hadn't realized it would carry. It's nothing really, just a spell," she shrugged, hiding her shock as well as she could. Why could _he_ smell it? Why _him_, of all people? Mister stodgy cold fish Brit himself? Maybe the scent was just really strong and others would notice it as well, that must be it.

"A spell… Alright then," he shrugged. "So what are we going to do about all this?"

Akako returned with two teacups and a full teapot and set them down at the table, then sat back down herself to think.

"Do you know, I'm not even sure what we _can_ do. I had planned to do some research in my library to see if there was anything I might learn about miko of Marishiten, but that's about the extent of my planning thus far. As far as the Kid is concerned, this shooter worries me. I've sensed a dark presence around him for a long time, but this is the first time they've showed their hand so openly. I hope it isn't some sort of turning point," Akako shook her head.

"As do I," Saguru agreed, "The lack of concern for others clear in the shooter's actions doesn't bode well, for the police _or_ the general public at a heist. What truly worries me, though, is that this is going to cause the Kid to change his methods; to move underground, and thus make him even harder to predict and catch."

"I definitely think there's something else going on here," Akako frowned. "I propose that for now, we concentrate on finding out all we can about this enemy or enemies of the Kid."

"I agree," Saguru concurred, "That's more important right now."

The conversation started to peter out then, neither of them being able to think of anything immediate they could do, and they just stared at each other as Akako poured the tea. Finally, it was she who broke the silence.

"Um, would you like to help me search the library?" she asked, a little hesitantly.

"I can do that, if you tell me what to look for," he agreed, "Besides, I wouldn't be able to start looking for the other information today, since it's Sunday and the city library's microfiche won't be available."

"Come on then, the library's this way. Feel free to bring your tea with you," Akako picked up her own teacup and headed deeper into the house.

Nakamori Ginzo sat in his office with the door closed and the blinds drawn, trying to come to grips with what he had just realized. He had a sheet of paper out in front of him, and he was writing out facts as they occurred to him; all the little clues that had taken _far too long_ to add up to a solution. The paper read something like this:

Point: Toichi's international travel - check for coinciding Kid heists.

Point: Toichi an expert at slight-of-hand, Kaito as well.

Point: No heists after Toichi's death (how did I ever miss _that_ one?)

Point: Break long enough to allow Kaito to grow up.

Point: Both of their &#! names, even!

Point: Minami's reference to Kaito and the Kid being two halves of a whole.

Point: Kaito being able to comfort Aoko when she was having a nightmare/vision about the Kid.

Point and point and another damned point! Far too many points for him to ignore, let alone overlook. He kept waiting for some other young officer to burst into the office crowing about his sudden revelations as to the identity of Kaitou Kid, but they never came. In a way, that made it even harder, placing the entire burden of knowledge on his shoulders, along with the necessary decision of what to do with that knowledge.

'Well, first things first, let's figure out the first Kaitou Kid.' he thought to himself. 'Knowing Toichi, it was probably all something of a lark at first, a bit of fun and an adrenaline rush. What else could have caused an otherwise scrupulously considerate citizen to steal jewels in his spare time? Then somehow he got tangled up with that crime syndicate. I can certainly interpret Kaitou Kid's comment the other night about them having "taken someone dear to him" as meaning that they caused Toichi's death.'

Nakamori shook his head sadly. If only he'd known! But then really, what more would he have - _could_ he have done?

'So then we fast-forward eight years, Kaito grows up, and somehow discovers the truth about his father's death. Instead of coming to me or some other police personage, he insanely decides to take up his father's mantle - or rather, his monocle - and does magnificently at it with seemingly no training of any sort. The whole thing is almost too much to be believed!'

And to think, just the other day he'd been thinking about how Kuroba Toichi had taught him how to do a simple switch and pawn an object, and he'd been contemplating using that skill to steal a jewel! No wonder Toichi had been so reluctant to teach him! An international jewel thief teaching slight-of-hand tricks to the police inspector leading the special taskforce sworn to capture him? Toichi must have been appalled! Then again, Toichi'd always had such an amazing sense of humour; he'd probably laughed himself silly about the whole thing...

Come to think of it, Nakamori had sworn his enmity of the Kid numerous times, but the Kid (neither of the Kids, he mentally corrected himself) had ever actually reciprocated that enmity back to him. Had he been looking at this the wrong way all this time? Now _that_ was a deeply frightening thought!

Back at his own house, Kaito was busy helping his mother clean out the attic. He hadn't yet figured out why they were bothering, but he still felt guilty enough about the scare he'd given her last night that he didn't protest. His mind wasn't really on the job, though. No, his mind was a few houses away where - presumably - Aoko was learning the deep secrets of becoming a miko.

"Tell me again why we're cleaning the attic?" he called out to his mother as he stifled yet another sneeze.

"Because I think Toichi might have stored some things up here. Not Kid stuff that was obvious, but other stuff, and I thought maybe you'd find it useful." Meimi explained.

"If you say so, but it feels like a make-work project to me," he muttered under his breath.

"What was that?" Meimi glared at him suspiciously.

"I said Dad did like to make things a lot of work," Kaito covered himself.

"That's true, he really did, didn't he?" she laughed, "But he always made sure it was fun at the same time."

Kaito laughed and shook his head, then got back to lifting and dusting off old cardboard boxes before stacking them where he had already cleaned.

Many sneezes and about half an hour later, his foot made an unexpected hollow "thunk" when he stepped into the place he had just cleaned, and Meimi's head shot up from where she was examining the contents of one of the boxes.

"That sounds like something," she said, "maybe there's a loose board?"

Kaito checked, carefully moving all the boxes from around the hollow spot until he had a good three feet clear on each side. He carefully examined the floor, blowing the dust away gently and looking for anything that dust outlined that might be a catch of some sort. It took him over a minute to find it, and then he only found it at all because he was well-trained in what to look for. A thief, after all, is a kind of detective too; he needs to be able to find what's hidden, since no person leaves their valuables out in clear view and without anything to protect them.

The catch was next to a knot in the wood, but Kaito knew his father better than that. There had to be a second catch, one that would need to be released in concert with the first, and that was the difficult one to find. He finally located it - a slightly raised nail on the very end of one of the boards - and he grinned and winked at his mother as he reached out and pressed the two simultaneously. With a quiet "pop" the board lifted up just enough that he could get his fingers under it and pull it up the rest of the way.

He gently set it aside and his mother handed him a flashlight. The beam revealed a dusty hollow space in between two of the beams, and in that space there was a long, flat box. Kaito checked thoroughly for additional traps which might be triggered by the box's removal and didn't lift it up and out of the space until he was sure there weren't any.

"Well, what's in it?" Meimi asked impatiently.

"I'm getting there, I'm getting there!" Kaito waved her off, examining the box.

He quickly realized that it wasn't a "normal" box at all; it was a puzzle box, where certain parts of the box had to be pushed and slid different ways in order to be able to get inside it.

"Well, whatever's in here, Touchan wasn't making it particularly easy to get into," Kaito observed even as his nimble fingers were working over the box, pushing and sliding with speed, but also gentleness, waiting for the "ping" of the release catch.

"Alright, now I want you to relax and just let your mind drift," Minami was saying to Aoko. "Focus on the Tenshi no Namida and try to sense its aura and soul."

"Its soul?" Aoko asked, confused.

"Even a stone has a soul," Minami pointed out, "And this one especially, since it is no ordinary stone.

"Okay," Aoko nodded, and closed her eyes. She tried to empty her mind of everything except the stone, but somehow Kaito's smiling face kept taking the place of the jewel.

Minami snickered and Aoko's eyes shot open.

"What? It's not easy to just focus on one thing, I've never done this before, remember?" she objected.

"Oh, but I'm pretty sure you _are_ focusing on just one thing, only it's not the thing you're supposed to be focusing on," Minami winked.

"How did you...I mean, I am not!" Aoko shook her head, "I'm not trying to focus on Kaito, his face keeps popping into my head, but how did you know?"

"Besides the fact that I'm clairvoyant? It was written all over your face - literally - you kept turning bright red. You really do blush prettily, but then I'm sure _he's_ told you that hasn't he?" Minami was grinning openly at her.

"Yes, he has," Aoko admitted, feeling her face go even redder, "but if you keep bringing him up, there's no way I'll be able to concentrate on anything else!"

"That's alright; I've decided to change my focus for the day's lesson just slightly. After all, why make you frustrated and thus make you less receptive? No, this time I want you to clear your mind and I _want _you to focus on that young man of yours. See what you can sense about him."

"O...okay," Aoko said a little nervously. She closed her eyes and breathed slowly, letting her thoughts filter down to just one thing - Kaito's face. At first it was her memory of the smile he'd given her when she came downstairs this morning, a smile both lazy and intense at the same time, but then the expression began to change to one of intense concentration like he got when preparing a magic trick.

"There! That should do it!" Kaito announced as he heard a faint click from the box. One final twist and the lid was off, revealing the inside of the long, slim box. It was stuffed tightly full of paper, mostly faintly yellowing newspaper clippings, and Kaito set it down on one of the larger storage boxes they had been moving and began to lift the papers out, scanning each one briefly as he did. It was a mixture of newspaper articles and stories about Kaitou Kid and also the great magician Kuroba Toichi, in reverse chronological order. Or rather, it was clear that they had been placed into the box chronologically, and he was now moving backward through them, the way an archaeologist digs down through the strata, from modern to ancient, back in time.

A remarkable number of articles had been fit carefully into the puzzle box, and Kaito ended up covering the tops of four larger storage boxes with clippings, being careful to keep them chronological. At the very bottom there was a small but obvious false bottom, and under that a magician's wand with a letter wrapped around it and addressed to...

"Nakamori-keibu?" Kaito asked disbelief in his voice. He examined what he could see of the letter, but it wasn't wrapped in such a way that he could read anything other than "If he starts asking questions which have to be answered" below the detective's name.

Aoko could feel her face going red as she concentrated on Kaito but she forced herself to ignore her embarrassment, determined to do well at this task her aunt and now teacher had set her.

"He's...surprised about something," she murmured, "I don't know what, Kaito's hard to read at the best of times, and he usually shuts up tighter than a clam if he gets surprised. I think it's some kind of self-protective measure or something," she shrugged.

"No doubt," Minami agreed, "What I want to know, though, is the impressions you can get of his state of health, not his mood; although the fact that you could get that much is interesting," she said encouragingly.

"His health? Okay, I think I can do that..." Aoko concentrated again on Kaito, trying to remember what it had been like last night to be aware of what in Kaito needed to be fixed. She felt the information come to her in a wave of sympathetic sensation.

"His arms and back are sore like he's been doing a lot of lifting, and he's a little stressed but also a little..." all of a sudden her face turned bright red and her eyes snapped open as she recognized the warm frission of sensation passing through her second-hand.

"Ah yes, that," Minami laughed gently, "don't let it bother you dear, it's perfectly normal for a boy his age - happens all the time, often without their even having an outside trigger. Although in his case I suspect the last day or so's time with you has more than a little influence."

"Gah! Minami-san, you're not helping!" Aoko exclaimed, clapping her hands to her burning cheeks.

"I'm sorry dear, it's just; the two of you are too cute!" Minami patted her shoulder. "Don't worry, the lesson is done for today, and you've done very well. I believe your father has some things to talk to you about when he gets back, and I don't think I particularly want to be part of that, so I'll head off now and look up that little witch friend of yours, just to make sure she's clear about the situation," she said, standing up and bowing politely, "I'll see myself to the door, and I'll see you next Sunday. In the meantime, I want you to spend half an hour to an hour a day on meditation; as long as you can manage, alright?"

"Alright, I'll try my best!" Aoko bowed, then straightened up when she heard the door close. "My father has things to discuss with me, ne? That doesn't sound encouraging," she shook her head.

Over at the Koizumi household, Akako and Hakuba were deep in the bowels of the library, hunting for references to miko of Marishiten - not an easy task, by any stretch of the imagination, but they did have one advantage: the Koizumi family owned arguably one of the best collections of books on spiritual and magickal subjects.

As Akako already knew, however, and Hakuba was quickly finding out, having one of the best collections of any kind of book does not by any means guarantee that you will find the information you're looking for quickly. Especially when you don't really know where in said collection you should look. All that being said, they were either extremely lucky or something was looking out for them, because they were only two hours into their search when Hakuba came across the first reference to the Tenshi no Namida and its miko. His eyes widened and he carefully marked the page before he went looking for Akako.

"Koizumi-san," he called up to her, "I think I've found something; you'd better come and read this and tell me what you think."

"Alright," Akako nodded, tucking a couple of books beneath her arm and descending to follow him. "You really don't need to be so formal, you know," she said conversationally, "Akako-san is just fine. After all, we are partners of a sort, aren't we?"

"I guess you've got a point," Hakuba laughed depreciatingly; "we are kindof partners now, aren't we? Alright then, I'll call you Akako-san if you'll use my proper name as well. No one ever seems to; I think it would be nice to hear it now and then."

Akako laughed. "Okay then, Saguru-san. I suppose you won't relax enough to let me call you "Sa-chan", will you?" she batted her eyelashes at him coquettishly and laughed when he blanched and tried to back away while still leading her to where he'd left the book.

"I don't think I've ever been _that_ relaxed in my whole life, and I doubt I will be anytime soon," he shook his head. "Here, read this," he changed the subject, handing her the book he'd been reading open to the pertinent page.

She took the book, sitting down as she read and nodding slowly. "Yes, that does sound promising - very promising."

"Especially considering that Kid's latest heist was a moonstone called the "Angel's Tear" as well," Hakuba pointed out.

"Yes, I was definitely taking that into account," Akako nodded. "There's another, more interesting factor here, though; one I don't think you caught," she said, holding up the book. "This book isn't just any old book of magickal history; this is a part of the annals of my own family! So somehow we met or knew this Tenshi Miko at some time or other."

"Perhaps other books from the same source might have more information, then," Hakuba suggested, "are they all stored in the same place?"

"They should be," Akako nodded distractedly as she continued to read.

Hakuba went back to the shelf where he'd found the family history book. There was a row of books there, all with very similar binding, and he'd randomly chosen one from the middle last time, so this time he picked up what looked like the first of the series, as well as the next couple, and took them over to Akako.

"Alright; assuming that the family history is arranged chronologically, these should be the earliest," he said, handing her the first one and taking the second for himself.

"I'll let you know if I find anything," Akako agreed, marking their first reference again and opening the earliest volume. There was silence for less than a minute before Akako's shocked gasp made Hakuba look up.

"Find something relevant?" he asked.

"Very," she nodded, "Listen to this: 'This account of the lives and experience of the family Koizumi is undertaken by me, Koizumi Ichiro, upon the insistence of Nakabara Keiko, appointed healer to the Chrysanthemum Throne and the present Tenshi Miko, to be a record of the connection between our two families.' So, these..."

"So these are exactly what we need," Saguru raised an eyebrow.

"Seemingly. Now what I'm really wondering, though," Akako frowned, "is why I was never told about this before." She shook her head. "Why did my parents never say anything about this? Did _they_ even know about it?"

Saguru shook his head firmly. "That isn't at issue just now; you can ask them when they get home, can you not? Right now I believe our most important task is to learn as much as we can about this 'Tenshi Miko' as quickly as we can, so as to be of some help to our classmate."

"Always so cold and logical," Akako sighed, "but unfortunately you're right. I don't have time to be wasting on brooding over what my parents have or haven't told me, it's much more important to get reading."

"Well of course I'm right! I would have thought you'd be used to it by now," Saguru rolled his eyes.

"Did you just make a joke, Sa-chan?" Akako said sweetly. "That's really quite cute!"

Saguru shuddered and somehow managed to blush and blanch at the same time.

"What do you think, should we start at the beginning or the end?" Akako asked, acting as though nothing had happened, "And how many books were there exactly? This one is dated Heian 59. Wow, that's a long connection if it continues up to the present!"

"It is," Saguru agreed, only too glad to pretend nothing had happened. "No doubt this book is a copy then," he observed.

"I don't think so. It looks more like a scroll that's been cut up and bound," Akako noted as she turned the first page.

"Interesting," Saguru said. "Since you're starting at the beginning, I'll start with the last book. I do find something intriguing though," he observed as he headed back to the shelf.

"What's that?"

"I find it intriguing, with the apparent history of connection between your two families, that you and Nakamori-san should end up as classmates."

"Yes, that is interesting, isn't it? One might almost say suspicious. Yet another thing I need to ask my parents about sometime," Akako agreed.

Saguru made a noncommittal sort of sound as he sat back down: already buried in a volume of the history (presumably the last one).

"What's the date on that one?" Akako asked.

"Nineteen Sixty-nine."

"So if it still has information about the Tenshi Miko, it should have information about Aoko-chan's predecessor," Akako said.

"Mm-hmm." Saguru was already back in the book. He flipped quickly, scanning the pages for any reference to the Tenshi Miko or the Tenshi no Namida.

About a quarter of the way into the book one eyebrow raised, and a few pages later so did the other...then he seemed almost to growl before sighing and setting the book down open in front of him.

"Akako-san, you said that it might be dangerous if we talked to others about Nakamori-san being a Miko...why did you say that?" he asked.

"Pardon? Oh, I just remembered being told many times by my parents that if I ever encountered a miko of Marishiten I should be careful who I talked to her about, and I should guard her identity, since some people might consider her a commodity to be used. Obviously there was a reason for this, at we can see."

"Oh, I suspect there was a very good reason indeed," Saguru said, pushing the open book toward her, "You see here..."

But he didn't get to finish pointing out what he'd found, just then the doorbell rang, making them both jump.

"Who on earth...?" Akako frowned.

"I'll come with you," Saguru said firmly.

"I'm quite capable of taking care of myself in my own home," Akako objected, "you can stay here and read."

"No, I think I'm going to have to insist," he said, standing in front of her, blocking her way, "Just for the sake of my own nerves, if nothing else."

"Fine then, come along and play Paladin if you must," she shrugged, heading for the door. The doorbell rang again and she sighed. "I'm coming, I'm coming!" she called out, hurrying a little more.

When she got to the door, Hakuba stood - almost loomed - behind her.

"Yes?" she said, opening the door. A woman stood on the step, a smile on her face and her unusual dark purple-blue eyes twinkling.

"Koizumi Akako-san?" she asked.

"Who wants to know?" Hakuba asked belligerently.

"I'm sorry, how remiss of me, you're absolutely right, I ought to introduce myself first. My name is Minami, and I'm an aunt… Well, more like a second cousin of Nakamori Aoko's. I believe she's a classmate of yours? I wanted to talk to you about some things Aoko mentioned, but perhaps I should come back when you don't have company?" Minami raised an eyebrow at Hakuba, who glowered untrustingly back at her.

"Does this have anything to do with last night?" Akako asked.

"Actually yes, it does."

"That's fine then, come in," Akako invited; backing up…right into Hakuba, who still hadn't moved. She sighed. "It's okay, mister British Bulldog, she's not lying," she said. To Minami she said, "This is another classmate, Hakuba Saguru. Feel free to be open around him, he knows what happened last night as well."

"Ah. I could have wished fewer people knew…"

Hakuba nodded to himself, remembering something he had skimmed over in the book he had so lately been reading. "Wait, you're the Miko Minami – the clairvoyant?" he asked.

"Yes, but how did you… Ah, I see, you've been doing some reading. I _had_ wondered if you were part of _that_ Koizumi family, Akako-san."

"If you mean the Koizumi family which has connections to the Tenshi Miko, then yes, apparently I am."

"Ah good, that makes things quite a bit easier. When Kaito-san told me you'd been there last night when Aoko-chan come into her power, I had to come to make sure that wasn't going to be a liability, just in case."

"You said Kuroba told you?" Hakuba asked; a gleam in his eyes.

"Yes, apparently he was there as well," Minami nodded.

"How…interesting…"

"He didn't tell me any details, but I understand he followed Aoko-chan and the Kaitou Kid when they left."

"Of course, of course," Hakuba nodded, but his eyes showed that he didn't believe that story for a second.

"Please come and we'll sit in the parlor and discuss this like rational people," Akako rolled her eyes, leading Minami (and dragging Hakuba) into the parlor which was just down the hall from the door.

"Indeed, it would be nice to sit, seeing as how we have a few different things to chat about," Minami agreed.

Nakamori Ginzo was tired, frustrated, and altogether appalled at the lack of members of his taskforce who had managed to pick up on the vital pieces of information to come to that same startling conclusion he had. He had waited until quite late, but still no one came to his door, no officer was heard screaming through the corridors that he had solved the mystery of the Kaitou Kid's identity.

But then again, he did possess not only a superior intellect (or so he liked to think) but also extra clues and background knowledge that other taskforce members just didn't have access to… After all, he had, so it seemed, been quite good friends with the original Kaitou, and raised his daughter to be friends and now something more (and ohhhhh how that rankled!) with the present one. Speaking of which, he really ought to go home and discuss a few things with his daughter. Yes, he really should do that. And then he was going to go over to the Kuroba house and talk to young Kaito… A feral grin bloomed over the inspector's face. He was going to have an awful lot of fun talking to Kaito, especially if he could find a way around Meimi-san.

He hadn't forgotten that he had made an agreement with the Kid to cooperate when it came to keeping Aoko safe (and how on earth had he missed the Kid's protective concern there too! Had he been walking around half-blind? Apparently so!) but he could certainly claim to have upheld his part of that agreement. In spades, as Toichi would have said. After all, he'd known about the truth of the kid's identity for a whole FOUR HOURS and he hadn't said a thing to anyone…Which was really starting to drive him crazy, which was another good reason to go home and have that little chat with Aoko

Decision made, he stood up, walked to his office door, and calmly walked out. "I'm going home to ask my daughter a few more questions about the Kid, see if she remembers anything more," he explained, "I should be back in tomorrow, but call me right away if you come up with any new leads."

"Just like always," the officer on duty agreed, waving at the inspector's back as he headed out at a determined pace.

Okay, and seeing as how this is a rather nasty cliffhanger, let me assure you, I will do my absolute best to get the next chapter out in under two years. No guarantees on it being under a month though, since I hve some pretty major stuff going on in my life right now (including househunting, oh gods that's scary!) Will Nakamori manage to do Major Bodily Harm to Kaito before he can get a word in edgewise? We shall see!


	10. 9: Sing a Song of Sorrow and Grieving

And unexpectedly there's another chapter already! Dunno if I can pull that out of the hat again but we'll see, I'm just glad to give you all the chance to enjoy it!

And now, on with the ficcage:

Moonlight Shadow

Chapter 09:

Sing a Song of Sorrow and Grieving

Aoko, knowing her father was on his way home and would want to speak with her about the events of last night, was cooking dinner. Not just any old dinner either; she was cooking the fanciest dinner she could manage with what they had on hand. Her reason for doing this was twofold. First, she knew that her father hadn't eaten much for breakfast, and also hadn't had much of the lunch Minami-bachan had ordered, so she was sure he would be hungry, and second... Well, second, she knew, both from what Minami-bachan had said and just from her own logic, that Inspector Nakamori Ginzo, head of the Kaitou Kid taskforce, was going to come home with more than a few questions for his darling daughter - he was hardly likely to pass up the opportunity to interview someone who had come so close to the Kaitou Kid and stayed with him for a protracted length of time, after all - and she figured that if his belly was full it would at least take the edge off some of his grouchiness, not to mention making him a bit drowsy, and she would need all the advantages she could get in passing her story by him without giving him any information she shouldn't.

She puttered around from one dish to another, nervous energy fueling her efforts as she chopped and sliced, tossed and stirred, and put everything out on the table, prettily displayed. She was just finishing the last few things when she heard a car pull into the driveway.

"Well, here we go," she said softly to herself, then responded with a cheery "Okaeri" to her father's rather grumpy and somewhat distracted-sounding "Tadaima".

His mood did seem to improve a bit when he saw the dinner laid out, but he gave her a suspicious look as he sat down. "Lovely dinner Aoko, thank you. Now, before we do anything else, I'd like to know just one thing."

"Oh? What's that?" Aoko asked, feeling a sinking sensation in the pit of her stomach.

"How long have you known?" Nakamori asked, fixing her with a piercing glare. "I know Kuroba is Kaitou Kid, but how long have you known?"

"Really known? Only since yesterday," Aoko said softly, sitting across the table from him and staring down at her hands. "Are you going to arrest him now?"

"No," Nakamori said shortly, shaking his head, "and nobody else at the station knows yet either. I need to talk with him about a few things before I make any decisions one way or another. Hmm, now there's a good idea... You really have made more food than just the two of us can eat, why don't we invite the Kurobas over for dinner? It's been a while since our whole semi-family has sat down to dinner together, ne?" He stood up from his chair. "I'll just give Meimi-san a call."

Aoko felt more numb than anything else as she watched him walk to the phone in the hall and dial Kaito's number. She didn't really hear what he said; mostly because her ears were ringing with shock. Her father had figured out Kaitou Kid's identity, and he was actually acting calm about it? And not only that, he wanted to _talk_ to Kaito before he did anything else? This had to be some kind of bizarre sick joke he was playing in order to get Kaito in custody without tipping him off so he could run. It just _had_ to be! Her father would _never _cooperate with the Kid, even knowing he _was_ Kaito.

Her mind just kept circling around and around, trying to make logic of it all, she didn't even notice when Kaito and Meimi came in and sat down.

"Aoko? Yo! Space station to Aoko, come in Aoko!" Kaito waved his hand in front of her face, "What's wrong, you have a long day training?"

She blinked. "No Kaito, it's Tousan! He knows..."

"What she's trying to say is I know that you're the Kid. You really ought to be more careful what you say when you've got a live radio transmitting, you know." Nakamori said calmly.

Kaito blanched for a second before he slipped into his poker face.

Meimi patted his arm. "It's a good thing you brought that box of your father's along just in case," she said.

"Yeah, I guess it is," Kaito agreed quietly. "So, Nakamori-keibu, where's the horde of police to arrest me?"

"Not here. I made some very binding promises to your father when you were younger, and there's also the issue of Aoko's White Knight, but I want to hear the whole story Kuroba, _all of it_, or there will be a whole horde of police, just when you least expect it."

"Understood," Kaito nodded. "Would you like it now, or should we eat first?"

"Eat," Nakamori shrugged, "I know you're not going anywhere for a little while anyway. What was that about a box?"

"Oh, just Touchan left a box and a letter for you, just in case you started asking questions that couldn't be easily answered," Kaito shrugged, "I'll bring it out after we eat."

"Fine," Nakamori nodded, and then started serving up the dinner.

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Back at the Koizumi mansion, Hakuba Saguru was having his eyes opened in any number of ways. For example, the existence and wide-ranging nature of the Black Organization. He _had_ had some vague suspicions that something of the sort might exist, but to have those suspicions confirmed so matter-of-factly, _and_ connected to the Kaitou Kid, was not something had ever envisioned. He had just assumed that Kuroba's father had died in a stage accident, like everyone said, and that the one shooting at Kid last night had been hired by one of the phantom thief's former marks to get back at him. He had assumed that Kuroba had taken up his father's mantle simply because the thought amused him, or perhaps from some sort of twisted respect for his father; he'd never suspected that the motive might have been revenge! Of course, Minami-san never actually referred to them as anything but "the original Kid" and "the present Kid", but the parallels were easy enough to draw. None of this surprised Akako-san, though, so she must have known at least some of it. No, Akako-san just calmly nodded at everything Minami-san said, up until she started explaining about the Koizumi family's connection to the Tenshi Miko.

"... So with a very few exceptions, the Koizumis have always supported the Tenshi miko and her line, acting as backup and support, and the families even occasionally intermarried, strengthening the powers in both lines. The Koizumis, though, had one major difference. They had always been sorcerers rather than priests or miko the way the Tenshi line were, and during the first western contacts with Japan, the then-head of the line came across a Dutch sailor washed ashore and nursed him back to health. Once they had managed to overcome the language barrier, they discovered that he was something of a sorcerer himself, and they asked him to share his knowledge and techniques with them, in payment for his rescue. He readily agreed, and eventually ended up marrying the Family Head's only daughter. That started a trend within the family of bringing in gaijin with magickal knowledge and skills, and created a strange kind of blended magickal tradition, more effective and powerful than either tradition on its own."

"And you comment about _me_ being konketsuji?" Saguru raised an eyebrow at Akako.

"I told you I have cousins in Europe," Akako shrugged, "you just assumed that meant they were Japanese émigrés."

"You're right, and your use of Western Magick should have given me a big clue, too. Which part of Europe, if I might enquire?"

"Ireland, primarily," Akako smiled, "or at least that's where my closest relatives are from. I think there's also some Spanish and Italian a few generations back, and of course there's the Dutch connection. Still, even with all that I'm more than half Japanese, I think," she grinned and stuck her tongue out at him.

Saguru stared at her, a little taken aback. He'd never seen her so childishly playful before, only ever mature and flirtatious. He decided he liked it, it made her seem more approachable, more _real_, and also more vulnerable, somehow.

Minami looked between the two of them and subdued the urge to roll her eyes. If I might continue?" she interjected, "It is getting late, and there are still important points to cover."

"Yes, of course," Akako sat up straighter in her chair and looked attentive again.

Saguru nodded and mirrored her attentive pose, waiting for Minami to go on.

Minami smiled a little sadly at them, then went on to explain bout the theft of the Tenshi no Namida and the events that followed, up to and including the death of Aoko's mother and the hiding of her family. She looked at the stunned expressions on the faces of the two children sitting before her and shook her head. On the one hand, she couldn't blame the Koizumis for not having told their daughter anything about the connections between their families - bonds of friendship between her and Aoko-chan could have been traced back and given Aoko and Ginzo away if they seemed to be directed and encouraged by the parents, far better that any connection between them seem to grow naturally from being in school together - but at the same time, dear little Akako-chan could definitely have been better-prepared to hear about all this. Well, she wasn't going to chastise parents she hadn't even met for years; she'd reserve her final judgment until later. At least now these two had a better idea of what they were up against. "So now that I've told my tale, I'm curious about something," Minami said. "I know all about Akako-chan's connection to us already, but what is yours, Saguru-san? Besides being a classmate of Aoko-chan's and Akako-chan's study partner, of course."

Saguru found himself flushing faintly for no clear reason he could explain, and silently cursed his light skin tone that showed blushes so easily. "My primary objective is and always has been the Kaitou Kid, but after last night and what I've learned today, I think that it's ore important to remove my competition, this so-called "Black Organization", and _then_ deal with the Kid. I'd rather capture him alive and intact so that he can answer all the questions I have for him," he told Minami.

"Ah, so _That's_ the "Holmes" connection," she nodded, "Alright then, Saguru-san, but if you don't mind a piece of advice, keep in mind that flexibility is often what keeps us alive, and there is more than one way to get the answer to any question." She smiled at him to lessen the ting of her words, and patted him on the shoulder. "I know you'll do the right thing in the end, for yourself and for everyone."

"Thank you," he nodded a little stiffly, but she was sure he would take her advice at face value.

She turned then and winked at Akako. "I trust you'll teach him everything he needs to know. I'll leave you my cel number in case you need to get in touch with me, and do let your parents know I'll be dropping by once they get back."

"Of course," Akako agreed, nodding.

"Now I really should be going, so I'll wish both of you a good evening. Please do feel free to call on me if you have any questions or concerns at all."

"We will," Akako nodded, rising to walk their guest to the door.

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It was a rather strained meal at the Nakamori household that evening, but everyone did at least _try_ to keep the tone light. When dinner and desert both had been consumed and the dishes set aside, Kaito took a deep breath.

"Alright, probably the best way to start this would be to give you Touchan's letter. After all, your dealings in this _did_ start with him."

Nakamori nodded curtly and watched silently as Kaito made a long, slim box appear in his hands, then with a few deft twists, almost too fast to follow, the box popped open, revealing the tightly packed articles, which Kaito carefully took out and laid on the table in chronological order. When he had reached the bottom of the main box, he removed the false bottom and handed the box to Nakamori.

"Here, this is a letter from my father, Kaitou Kid, to you," he said in a somewhat formal tone.

Nakamori peered into the box, then reached in and brought out the letter-wrapped magician's wand. With an expression of mixed regret and excitement he unwrapped the letter and set the box and wand down on the table, then opened the letter.

'_Dear Ginzo,_' he read silently to himself,

'_I'm sure all this has come as something of a shock to you, but then, you always were too trusting of me... Not that I'm complaining, mind you! In any case, now that you've figured out who I am, I suppose I owe it to you to come clean. Well, maybe not TOTALLY clean, but I will at least tell you the things you need to know. The most important of these has to do with my latest heists. As I'm sure you've noticed, they've all been jewels, and I've always returned them when the fun was over. That was because they weren't what I was looking for. The gem I actually seek is called the Pandora, and I'm not the only one after it either. I'm not sure if you've ever noticed a dark presence around my heists, especially recently, but they're there, and they are most definitely dangerous. I would like to say that I could send them packing myself, but unfortunately I just don't think that will be possible. After all, there are a great many of them and only one of me. Well, maybe two, but you'll have to puzzle that out on your own; THAT is not something I'm coming clean about here!_

_I suppose you want to know how I know this; well, here's my sad little story. I was running along doing my job as a magician and a good, law-abiding Kaitou as well as working hard at being a good father and husband, when I was approached for a job. It sounded easy enough really, just find a jewel. No consequences if I nabbed the wrong one, I got paid anyway for each heist completed and I could do what I wanted with the "wrong ones", the client didn't care. I know, I know, too good to be true, right? I thought so too, but hey, even a thief's gotta buy his groceries somehow, and Kai-chan's a growing boy! So I took the job, and it really was tons of fun - at first. But then I started to get curious about my employer or employers, and started doing a little digging. Would it surprise you to learn that a Kaitou can be awfully good at detective work too, if he puts his mind to it? Logic and deduction are very useful skills if one lives behind the "darker shadow" of the world of crime...Especially if one wants to stay safe and away from clients who could come back to bite one in the posterior. Unfortunately, I really should have done my looking into things before I got involved at all (not that this would have necessarily removed the element of danger in dealing with them. I suspect they would have tried to kill me in any case, just for having a little knowledge of what they were doing and what they were looking for) since I discovered that this was not just one or two isolated "collectors" looking for this piece, whatever it was, but in fact a vast and dark crime syndicate, the type I really would rather was wiped off the face of the planet. Well, I suppose that's more your job than mine though, isn't it?_

_But I digress. The point is, once I discovered what they were up to and how nasty they really were, I decided that I ought to do something about it, so I told them I'd had enough, and then started going after targets on my own, just to try and get what they wanted before they could. The jewel they had been having me look for was supposed to be fairly powerful, not that I necessarily believe everything they said about it, but it doesn't do taking unnecessary risks, and the last thing I want to see is some immortal or super powerful bad guy running around if I could have done something about it. As you can imagine, they were definitely less than thrilled with the idea of me getting this little gewgaw before they did, so they've been after me for a while now. So far I've been evading them as handily as I do your police (if I do say so myself) but I don't want to risk something happening to me and there being no record of what was going on here. I won't tell you the name of my former contacts in the organization or the jewel I most suspect to be the one I need, not here, even this isn't safe enough. Likely if you're reading this they have gotten to me one way or another and I am dead. If that's the case, they are the ones that killed me, even if my death didn't look like a murder. My associates keep telling me I'm being paranoid, but... Ginzo, I've studied these people, I've spied on them and I've tapped their phones, and I KNOW what they're capable of! My only hope is that my identity will not be revealed with my death, so that Kaito and Meimi are safe. I know you'll keep your oath to me, even if you DIDN'T know it was made to a criminal. You MUST keep them safe, and whatever you do, you MUST avoid getting in the way of this Black Organization. They will kill you and those you love, and that is the last thing I want to see happen, to you or to Aoko._

_I trust you Ginzo. You're an okay guy, even if you ARE a policeman. You'd even make a decent magician if you ever pester me enough to learn more tricks. I gotta say, after I taught you how to palm things I thought I'd die laughing! Ah, the irony! You take good care of my boy for me, and take good care of that little girl of yours too, she's gonna be a terror someday._

_I'll see you later, in this life or the next, but if it's the latter, just you make sure it's not too soon, you hear?_

_With all my best,_

_Kuroba Toichi, International Phantom Thief 1412, "Kaitou KID"_

Nakamori set down the letter when he was finished reading, shaking his head and looking up at Kaito. "Well, this answers some of it, but it just raises more questions. One thing's for sure, though, I believe what you told me the other day, that the Black Organization were the ones who killed your father. What I don't understand, though, is how they managed it. I mean, I've SEEN the autopsy files, I insisted on it at the time, and I don't understand how they could know who Toichi was in his civilian life and yet not have come after you."

"They didn't know," Meimi said softly, speaking for the first time since they'd finished eating. "I have it on good authority that Toichi did not die on stage. You know, I'm sure, that cold water can make estimating time of death difficult. He drowned, but not on stage, and not as Kuroba Toichi. Luckily he had someone helping him, who was smart and quick enough to recover his body, and although not in time to save his life, his assistant did manage to save his identity from those who had killed him. He told me how he found Toichi, and I'll tell you about it later if you must know, but not around the children. It's not something they need to hear."

"That's fine Meimi-san, I understand," Nakamori nodded, "I may ask you at some point, but you're right, now is not the time. No, now is the time for the second iteration of my nemesis to explain just exactly how he ended up taking on that role. I'm sure your father never mentioned it to you before he died, he wasn't the type to burden a child with something like that, and besides, I remember just how protective of you he was, he never would have told you until he thought you were old enough to understand."

"No, you're right, he didn't tell me, but he did leave me a message, something for me to discover when I _was_ old enough; and somehow, when I discovered the truth, I couldn't just do nothing. It was…surprisingly easy to become the Kid, and the more I found out about those bastards who killed him, the more convinced I was that they could only be brought down from within, from the darker side of the fence."

Suddenly Aoko giggled; then covered her mouth, looking shocked at herself for her outburst. "I'm sorry!" she said, "I'm sorry, but suddenly you made me think of Star Wars, and I just couldn't help it! I know this is a serious thing Tousan, and I'm not just being silly, but I couldn't _help_ it!"

Kaito snorted. "Yeah, right, whatever you say, Aoko. Personally, though, I think I make a better Han Solo than a Darth Vader." He raised an eyebrow suggestively, and suddenly Aoko's mental picture degraded into one of the sweeter scenes between Han and Leia and she blushed bright red.

"Achem!" Nakamori cleaned his throat, rolling his eyes, "If we could get back to the topic, I believe you were about to explain to me why I should put my job in jeopardy by _not_ disclosing everything I know to the chief of police and exposing and capturing you?" He turned to Kaito, "And no, just wanting revenge is not enough of a reason. There are plenty of vigilantes out there who want revenge for something, and we don't let them get away with things either."

"How about the fact that I'm on your side?" Kaito pointed out, "I really am doing my best when I can to direct you toward the dark types, and I'm trying to keep them from getting something that could be a disaster if it actually works as advertised - something I'm more concerned about now that I know about Aoko and the Tenshi no Namida. I had doubted such a thing as a magical jewel could really exist, but I wasn't taking chances even if I wasn't sure, just the same way my father wouldn't have. And speaking of that, there is also the fact that I have been and intend to continue to be Aoko's protector," he added, not letting himself show any of the myriad of emotions which were running through him at the moment, although if pressed he might have admitted that the primary ones he was hiding were anxiety and fear. Nakamori really did have him in a bind here, and if he couldn't work something out with the policeman he could probably still get away, but not without giving up far more than he ever wanted to. If he had to leave now, he had to leave Aoko behind, and with their friendship just beginning to blossom into something far greater, that was the very last thing he wanted to do.

"You do make a point there," Nakamori admitted, "Aoko will need the protection of her "White Knight" until she's strong enough to manage on her own, and probably beyond that. You know as well as I how ruthless the syndicate is in going after what it wants, and I know all too well that it wants the power of the Tenshi no Namida." He took a deep breath, then looked at Kaito again. "Alright, you get a reprieve for now, but I want to know from now on what your real objectives are behind a heist. I won't ask you to tell me exactly when or where - that would be too sudden a change if I was able to interpret your calling cards faster than usual, but believe me, if I think - even once - that you're overstepping things I _will_ call you on it, and even if I won't report you to the police, I'll report you to your mother. Does that suit you, Meimi-san?"

"It does," Meimi agreed, "I can make a point of imposing some rules on him when and where the situation requires, but I'm sure you'll find Kaito will be quite willing to co-operate. Won't you, dear?" she turned a "look" on Kaito.

Kaito shivered. There was no more unholy alliance than one between his mother and Nakamori Ginzo. "Yes, of course. I'll still tease you on heists, otherwise as you said people would notice too much of a change, but I'll keep it within reason, and I'll warn you ahead of time about who to look out for at the heist," he agreed.

Aoko looked at all three of them and sighed in relief. It seemed her little experiment with "calming" others had worked. And none of them had even noticed!

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In a tiny four-tatami room in a corner apartment in one of Tokyo's tenement slums, a phone was ringing. The man who picked it up didn't identify himself, and as the lighting was bad and he was wearing fairly concealing black clothing, anyone who happened to notice him (not a likely thing since the blinds were drawn) would not have been able to recognize him either. It didn't bother him though, that was the way he liked things, and even if he could have afforded a bigger apartment or better clothes (which he could have) he had no reason for them. He lived for…other things.

"Yeah? Right, fine, understood. And the target's name? Okay, what's your preferred location for this to go down? Right. Got it. Okay, I'll have to conduct some surveillance first. Yeah, I understand."

The phone was hung up, and then picked up again, and he dialed a number. It was a different number from the one that had called him, not that anyone else would know. Not that anyone else would care. But they should have cared...

"We've got a job," he said gruffly, listened for a second, then hung up with a chuckle, sitting back in his tiny room and listening to the scream of a shinkansen going past on the nearby tracks. He liked the sound, it sounded almost…human.

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After Minami had gone, Hakuba turned to Akako. "I should probably head home as well. After all, it is getting late and I'm sure you want to be getting on with your evening, not to mention your dinner..."

"And just who here told you to go anywhere? It wasn't me. As far as I'm concerned you can stay the night if you so desire. I'd certainly love to have your help again with my research, if you feel up to it. Besides, it's not like you have anyone to go home to tonight, right?" she pointed out.

"How did you know my father's away?" Hakuba asked, giving her a suspicious look.

"Oh come now Sa-chan, surely you don't think you are the only person here capable of using logic and deduction! Observe: For the last week you've been coming to school a little later than your usual fifteen minutes early, and with sandwiches instead of onigiri. Add to that the fact that you were up all night last night, but _not_ at the heist itself, and that you hadn't really eaten when you arrived here, and there is only one possible conclusion: Your father is away again and you're at home alone." Akako smirked at his stunned expression and reached out to lift his chin with one finger. "Well look at that. I've managed to shock you speechless with my masterful deduction!" she laughed.

Hakuba shut his mouth with a clack of teeth and shook his head. "Okay, you've proven your point. I'll stay for a few more hours, but I'm a gentleman, I won't endanger your reputation by staying the night when there's no one else here."

Akako giggled, her eyes sparkling with mirth. "Still playing the paladin, Sir Hakuba? How does that work? Brave and shining holy knight on a white steed; do you have to ride yourself? That would be rather awkward."

"Ha ha, very funny," Hakuba rolled his eyes, but she could see a faint blush high on his cheeks, and she giggled.

"You are an imaginative boy, aren't you!" she teased.

"A good, active imagination is essential for a good detective. How else is he supposed to outwit criminals? A good grasp of logic is important too, but not all criminals are either logical or sane, you know."

"Very true," she giggled, thinking about the Kid. "So, shall we get back to our studies, since you insist on cutting our time together short this evening?"

"Yes, we really ought to," he agreed.

"We'll read for half an hour, then have some dinner," she continued, "Mother and Father left plenty of food, after all, and you evidently need to be fed when you're on your own."

"I can cook!" Hakuba objected as he stood and headed for the library.

"I'm sure you can, Saguru-kun," she said in a mollifying tone as she followed him, "But I also know that cooking for one is boring, and not many people enjoy doing it most of the time." She laughed a little, "Not even me. As to the library, I want to start my study of the Tenshi Miko at the beginning of the family history."

"I agree," Hakuba said; then he laughed. "You know, it occurs to me that both of us are quite adept at diverting conversations, aren't we?" he pointed out.

"Yes, I am! It's an important skill for a woman to possess," she said airily; then broke into giggles again.

"Er... Akako-kun? No offense meant, but what's gotten into you today? I've never seen you so giggly."

"Was I really all that serious all the time?" she asked him. "I never thought of myself like that."

"Well no, not serious persay; it's more that you were too _refined_ to do something as frivolous as giggling. You might chuckle and wink suggestively, but I don't think I ever heard you really giggle like a schoolgirl before today."

"I suppose I have fewer burdens now, which might have caused the change. Does it really sound that bad? I didn't even realize I was doing it, but..."

"No, it doesn't sound bad," Hakuba shook his head, "I kindof like it, it makes you seem more relaxed - more _real_." He smiled at her. "I assume it has some connection to your glamours being gone?"

"How did you..." She looked at him in shock. "How did you know they were gone? More importantly, how did you even know they were _there_ in the first place? And how did you know what they were? Do you have power also and just never let on?"

He shook his head. "Me? Have power like yours? Not that I've ever noticed, but as to how I knew? I _am_ a detective, remember? Trained to be observant and all that rot; and I may have been born here, but I spent all my formative years in Britain with my mother's family, and I had an auntie who just loved telling my cousins and me stories of "the fair folk" and witches and such. Once I'd come around intellectually to the idea that you actually were a witch, it wasn't that much of a leap to accept that the abnormal pull I felt around you had to be a glamour," he explained.

"If you say so," she said, giving him a dubious look, "but I still have my suspicions about you. Mundanes should _not_ be able to see through or resist a glamour."

"Kuroba seemed to be able to resist yours," Hakuba pointed out.

"Kuroba? Be honest now, Saguru-kun, do you _really_ think Kuroba's a complete Mundane? There's definitely some sort of ability there; latent or not I couldn't say for sure, but it's definitely there."

"You have a point," Hakuba conceded. "This isn't helping us study, though," he pointed out.

"You're right," she agreed. They'd reached the library while they talked, and she sat back down at the table where she'd left the book when she got up to answer the door. "Don't think you've gotten out of this completely, though, I do intend to do a couple of tests on you at some point to gauge how much you can see."

"Tests eh?" Hakuba said, sounding a little nervous all of a sudden.

"Oh don't worry, I won't do anything _too_ permanent, just show you a few things," she smiled at him.

Somehow, Hakuba Saguru did _not_ find that smile reassuring.

"But as you said, back to work. Shall we take turns reading aloud, do you think? That would be easier than trying to share the book, and then we'll both be on the same page, knowledgewise."

Hakuba rolled his eyes. "Yes, right, we'll be 'on the same page' both figuratively _and_ literally." He screwed up his face. "Oh drat, I even turned _that_ into a pun. It wasn't my intention, I assure you."

"Of course not, Sa-chan. I know you're far too refined to stoop to such vulgar things as puns," Akako tapped his nose. "Don't apologize, it was a good pun. Shall I go first?"

"You might as well, since you have the book," Hakuba nodded.

"Alright then. Fifteen minutes then we switch."

He nodded again, so she cleared her throat and began to read, starting at the very first page of the introduction again. It was nice having Hakuba - no, _Saguru_ - around to banter with, she decided as she read, even if he _was_ a bit of a stick and far too concerned with playing the gentleman.

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After a fairly lengthy grilling by Nakamori - through which Kaito felt he had more than held his own - and an even longer perusal of the articles which had been in the box with the letter, Kaito and Aoko were dismissed to the kitchen and ordered to do the dishes while the older generation remained at the table.

Nakamori Ginzo heaved a ponderous sigh and leaned forward to cradle his head in his hands. "Why does it all have to happen to people around me?" he groaned. "If it wasn't for these black men... These..."

"I know," Kuroba Meimi reached out and patted his shoulder, "believe me, I know. I've been there, and I've even called them some of those names I'm sure you're thinking of right now. After all, they've stolen one of the most precious things in my life away from me, and I live in constant fear that they'll take the other as well. I can't stop Kai-chan from following Toichi, I wouldn't ever want to try, but I certainly am capable of worrying over him, so I do my best to support him and keep him strong. Kaito mentioned that you also lost someone dear to them..."

"My wife, yes. They'd been searching for her, and I still don't know how they found her, but I suspect it was through the hospital where she worked. Too many people recovered too quickly and too well from things which should have left them incapacitated. Mariko was too softhearted to deny them what she could give, and I was still too much of a foolish rookie to recognize the danger of her making herself too visible."

"Kaito said they used thallium?"

Ginzo nodded. "It's a horrible way to die," he confirmed, his eyes haunted. "Meimi-san, I want to know. About Toichi. How did he really die? I don't mean to open old wounds, but I need to know the truth."

"I understand," she smiled sadly; "I thought you'd probably ask; that's why I sent Kai-chan away with Aoko-chan. They don't need to hear this. Shall we move to the living room?"

"An excellent idea," Ginzo agreed, and they stood and moved to the more comfortable chairs of the living room, which were also, coincidentally, further from the kitchen and thus completely out of earshot. Kaito had extremely good hearing, after all.

"So, where to start?" Meimi took a deep breath and let it out slowly. "I suppose I should start by setting the scene. Toichi had gone on a 'special exclusive tour' to France as cover for a heist. He didn't tell me exactly what he was after, only that it looked like a good prospect, and that he hoped this job would end things with the Black Organization. So he and his assistant headed off to France, and the rest of what I know comes from what his assistant told me after the funeral.

"Apparently the target he was after was being kept on an offshore island, and rather than trying to sneak through the security grid in a boat, he elected to go in underwater. He had only sent his notice to the owner of the gem he was after in hopes to keep the numbers of bystanders down, and that person had elected not to alert the police, so it seemed like it was going to be a quiet heist. Toichi went into the water, sending his assistant off to cover for him and prepare for his onstage performance that night. His assistant was uneasy though, and when Toichi failed to report in to let him know he'd arrived on the island, he dropped what he was doing and hurried back to the pier. He quickly got into his own scuba gear and headed along the route he knew Toichi had been planning to take. There was really only one safe route to swim to the island, even with a scuba jet, so he was able to find Toichi without too much trouble. It was too late for my husband by that time, his assistant could see that clearly, but he knew that if their opponents found Toichi and unmasked him, we - his family at home - would be in great danger as well.

"Toichi had been trapped under a massive weighted Plexiglas dome, and there was no way his assistant could lift it, so he turned his jet on the bottom and used it to dig under the cage to get to Toichi, who he brought back out the same way."

"But couldn't Toichi have gotten out that way as well then?" Ginzo objected.

"I'm sure he could have, if he'd had time, but his air hose had been slashed. Even if he'd managed to get out of the cage, he wouldn't have made it to the surface," Meimi shook her head sadly.

"His assistant took Toichi's body back to shore, then smuggled it into the magic show and took Toichi's place on stage. He was a consummate magician as well, so none of the audience noticed anything when he pulled a switch during the water escape trick. It's an honourable way for a magician to go, in the footsteps of Houdini, and since he'd already drowned there wouldn't be any awkward questions at autopsy…"

Her voice broke and Ginzo was suddenly aware that tears were rolling down her face. He awkwardly reached out and pulled her into ah half-hug over the coffee table.

"We'll get the bastards, one way or another. They've broken too many people's lives and families apart. I'm positive we aren't the only ones this Syndicate has pushed too far. There's a force growing in opposition to them, and it's getting stronger every day. One of these days they're gonna wake up and discover that they've got nowhere to go but down."

"Yes, you're right," Meimi nodded, wiping the tears off her cheeks, then chuckling. "I've never heard you so eloquent without swearing, I'm impressed, Ginzo-san!" she made herself smile.

Ginzo pulled away, looking thoroughly embarrassed. "Just don't like seeing women cry, didn't mean anything by it," he mumbled.

"I know, I know," she patted his head, "You're a big strong macho guy and all that, just like you always say. Whether you admit it or not though, there was more than just a grain of truth in what you said." She giggled again, having taken her emotions in hand – something she had long practice with – and shook her head. "Toichi'd be laughing at you, you know," she pointed out, "even if I'm sure he'd also agree with you."

"Probably," Ginzo shook his head. 'I'm determined not to make his mistake, though. Nobody can take these guys down alone, no matter how good he is at what he does. I won't let myself do that, and I won't let Kaito-kun do it either, now that I know what he's been doing." He rolled his eyes.

"I agree completely," Meimi nodded. "It's getting late though, and the children do have school tomorrow, so I'll just go collect Kaito. I'm sure he and Aoko must be done the dishes by now." She smiled and headed back to the kitchen.

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When the "suggestion" was made that Aoko and Kaito do cleanup, both went to the kitchen quite willingly. Aoko was desperate for a chance to be alone with him to defend her loyalty to Kaito even though she knew her father hadn't implied that she'd said anything to tip him off. Kaito, on the other hand, knew her well enough to know she was feeling guilty, and was anxious to reassure her that he didn't blame her for her father figuring things out.

:'m sorry Kaito," Aoko said softly when the kitchen door was closed behind them, "I swear I didn't tell Tousan any…mmph!"

Kaito cut her off with a quick kiss, both to shock her out of her worried funk and to reassure her that he wasn't upset with her. "Don't say another word," he shook his head, "I know you didn't say anything. It was my own fault, you heard him. He overheard us when that guy was shooting at us, and he heard me talking to you as myself and not the Kid. How could he not get it? After all, I grew up around you and him, and even your father is good enough to recognize a voice. When you add that to how obvious I was probably being about my concern for your welfare, it doesn't surprise me that he figured things out."

"Baka!" Aoko hit him upside the head with a hastily-grabbed scrub brush, "How can you not be worried about this! The police inspector in charge of your case has figured out your secret identity and knows where you live and everything! Damn you how can you be so calm! I was having a quiet FIT when I realized Tousan knew!"

"Who ever said I wasn't worried? Who said I was calm?" Kaito's eyes narrowed and he caught her wrists in his to stop the attack on his head by the rather spiky cleaning utensil, "I am far from calm about this, but right now there's nothing I can do, and since we seem to have worked out an agreement – at least temporarily – I have to go with that and trust that my wits and skills will get me out again when things get too hot with the police."

"I'll…I'll miss you when you go," Aoko sighed, dropping the scrub brush. "I know you don't have much choice, I know you'll have to disappear at some point and become invisible, but I'll miss you when that happens."

"It's not going to happen," he shook his head. "Even if I do have to drop off the face of the earth for a bit and go into hiding I won't go alone. When I disappear I'm stealing you and taking you with me."

"Kaito!" she protested, blushing, "You can't just steal me!"

"No? You think I can't? Just watch me!" He grinned at her, using Kid's grin. "A Phantom Thief never turns down a challenge, you know! Besides," he looked at her more seriously now, "I need to keep you near me to keep you safe. That's my job, remember? Minami-san said so, and I have a feeling she's right."

"Well, I suppose I'm getting ahead of myself to worry about it just yet," Aoko admitted, "It's obvious that Tousan wants to put these Syndicate types behind bars, and he seems quite willing to work with you to do it."

"Yup!" Kaito nodded gleefully, "I get to have an "insider" in the force, how cool is that? All good Kaitou should have a police helper!"

Aoko rolled her eyes. "Right, if you say so. Sometimes I think you're just insane, do you know that?"

"Insane? Me? Never! Crazy for you, maybe…" he pulled her closer to kiss her again.

Aoko blushed. "Why do you keep doing that?" she asked a little breathlessly when he let her breathe on her own again.

"Why? 'Cause I can, of course!" he flicked her nose with a finger, turning her toward the sink, "I've wanted to for ages and not been allowed, how does it surprise you that a Kaitou should not want to steal as many kisses as he can get?"

"Stealing kisses," Aoko giggled, starting the water for washing dishes, "But how is it stealing when they're freely given?" She felt colour rising in her cheeks at her boldness, finding herself unable to look at him for fear of turning red completely.

Kaito wrapped his arms around her from behind, nuzzling at her neck, and she felt shivers run down her spine. "Stealing them, getting them free, either one's fine by me just as long as I get to kiss you some more," he whispered.

"Kaito!" she half-protested (their parents were still just in the other room, after all) and turned her head fractionally to try to look at him, "What's gotten into you tonight!"

"I guess it's just a reaction to all the worry running around in my head," he shrugged, "The thought of having to run and leaving you behind disturbed me, 'specially when I've just finally got to have you as close as I want, I just need to hold you for a bit. It's okay, right? You'd hit me with something if I was being pushy, I know you."

Aoko leaned back against him comfortably while also rolling her eyes. "You know it," she confirmed, "Anything you do that's going too far and you get mopsmacked. Well, or smacked with whatever comes to hand." She giggled then. "You can stay there if you like but once the drain board's full you're gonna have to start drying dishes. There's more here than can fit.

"Do I have to?" Kaito pouted, "Can't I just be your warm snuggly thief-blanket instead?"

"Yes, you have to," she said firmly, "Warm snuggly thief-blanket or not, I made the entire dinner, I am _not_ doing the entire cleanup too!"

Kaito laughed and pulled her closer against him (or rather, pulled himself closer against her, since she needed to stay close to the sink) and concentrated on nibbling at her neck and ear while she worked, until she almost dropped a dish from her hands shaking and informed him quite sternly (but with a very clear blush) that if he didn't stop that she was going to have to get violent with him.

"Sorry," he said, "I'm not usually so…touchy-feely; I guess I just gotta pick my times better, ne?"

"Like when I don't have breakables around?" Aoko giggled, "Yes that would be preferable. Why don't you start on the drying? The faster you get it done, the more time we'll have before either parent decides it's time for the evening to end."

"I could always sneak in later," he pointed out.

"You could, but you shouldn't," she agreed, "Tousan would kill you, agreement or no."

"Point," he conceded.

They breezed through the dishes, and when the last plate and bowl had been dried and put back in the cupboard, Aoko turned away to empty the sink and was grabbed from behind and slung over Kaito's shoulder.

"Come on, I said I could steal you anytime I want, didn't I?" he grinned, "I'll just leave a nice little note here…"

"Kaito you will NOT!" Aoko squeaked, "Not on a school night!"

"Oh, so weekends are okay then?" he asked archly, "I'll have to remember that…" He set her down on the counter and grinned at her, "Shall we arrange a date for that? Say two weeks from now, perhaps? I'll have to think of an appropriate riddle, and of course a venue…" He leaned in so that their foreheads were almost touching, then burst out laughing at her poleaxed expression. "Gotcha! Don't worry, I'm not going to steal you like that! There's other ways I'd much rather go about stealing you. I…" He blushed, colour rising high on his cheeks, "I would like to take you out somewhere on a proper date though. Last night was kindof one, but you deserve better than patching up a bleeding bandit for a first official date."

"Kaito," she said softly, "You put on a face all the time for everyone, don't you? Even if you're a romantic you hide it behind all the silliness, but I'm wise to you now, you can't get away with brushing things off anymore."

"That's okay," he shrugged, "Just as long as you don't go around advertising it to the world and all."

"Of course not!" she protested and blushed as well, "I managed to catch and keep the Kaitou that nobody else has come near, do you honestly think I'd jeopardize that?" She smirked at him then, and before he knew what she was doing she ducked in and kissed him – the first time she'd initiated the contact between them, and it sent a shiver of something very deep and basic through the young thief's body.

"Thought never crossed my mind," he said against her lips.

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When Kuroba Meimi pushed open the door to the kitchen, the sight that greeted her eyes was…

Completely normal. Kaito and Aoko were sitting around the breakfast table chatting about homework (she thought) and when they heard the door they both looked up at her and waved.

"Kombanwa, Meimi-bachan!" Aoko said, "Are you and Tousan done talking now? It's getting kinda late, and even though I slept a bunch last night, I am pretty tired. It's been a long day and I really should get to bed soon."

"Yeah, I'm pretty bushed as well," Kaito agreed, "C'mon Kaachan, we should head home before I fall asleep on the couch here or something."

"Nice to see you two getting along and not doing anything you shouldn't' be doing in the kitchen by yourselves with your parents just down the hall," she winked at them, laughing at the blushes that bloomed on both sets of cheeks, "You're right, Kai-chan, it really is time for all good little boys and girls to be in bed. Come on now, say goodnight to your friend. I'll be waiting at the door." She winked at them and left again, shutting the door behind her.

"How did she know?" Aoko whispered, looking at Kaito with wide eyes.

"It's a mom thing, I think," he explained, looking a little wide-eyed himself, "I'd better get to the door before she comes looking for me. Sweet dreams, Aoko, no more nightmares now," he whispered, leaning in to kiss her forehead. She swatted at him then wove her fingers into his hair to tug him down for a proper kiss before pushing him toward the door.

"Oyasumi, now get going!" she giggled.

When he got to the door, Kaito had thankfully managed to wipe the shit-eating grin off his face. 'Good thing I've had so much practice as Kid!' he thought to himself.

Yay! Another chapter done, and just in time before I leave tomorrow for Acen!

A couple of notes in this:

1: konketsuji: This means a child of mixed Japanese and Gaijin ancestry.

2: Yes, I know Houdini didn't actually die on stage OR in the water torture chamber, but it sounded good. :P Besides, he did have a stubborn determination to do his act no matter what, so it still fits.

Oh, and I apologize to everyone. I tried to keep Hakuba totally Mundane, I really, really did! I fought him having any hint of "power" tooth and nail, but Akako just wouldn't have it. She had to have something to hang over his head, so blame her, not me.

I also appologize for Kaito being somewhat OOC at the end of this chapter. I blame all the crazy shyte that's happened to him in the last two days, I think his brain is breaking. Just a little, of course

The next chapter should be much less with the talking and more with the action, so look forward to it! And once again thank you to my small fanbase for reading my humble little fic, I'm always so cheered to hear from you.


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